ITHACA, NY– With playoff hopes on the line and a chance to lock up a spot in the Liberty League tournament, the Ithaca College men's soccer team put together a well-rounded effort in their 2-1 victory over the RPI Engineers. The Bombers finish their regular season with a 7-5-3 record while RPI sits at 8-6-2.
This Liberty League clash was full of action as both teams left it all out on the field during this chilly fall match on Carp Wood Field. It was the visiting Engineers who got things going offensively first when Josh Gaudiano finished off a beautiful cross from Kyle Osbourne. This goal put RPI up 1-0, but Ithaca wasn't ready to back down.
An offensive flurry for the Bombers resulted in
Alex Cabeca putting a shot on net after an Ithaca corner kick.
Andrew Kusek also had a chance to tie up the score near halftime but couldn't come through. The score remained 1-0 RPI at the half.
There must've been some incredible words of motivation said during Ithaca's halftime because they were lights out in the second half. They had tons of scoring chances and dominated the possession battle while also limiting RPI to few offensive chances.
The Bombers offense clicked just seven minutes into the second half as
Jared Krasnove was able to tuck in a loose ball that tied up the game 1-1. The Ithaca crowd was on their feet and the Bombers answered.
After several offensive chances for the Bombers,
Landon Hellwig was fouled inside the Engineers 18-yard box resulting in a penalty kick. Gustav Baurle was called to the PK spot and he made no mistake, tucking a hard, low shot into the bottom left corner. The Bombers now had a 2-1 lead with just under 14 minutes left to play.
RPI had a few dangerous offensive sequences in the final minutes of the game but they were unable to convert and Ithaca wound up taking this playoff clinching game with a final score of 2-1.
Gustav Bauerle and
Connor Tierney were both credited with two shot attempts which was a team lead.
Johannes Berghahn also had a solid day in net making three saves.
The Bombers will now await a first-round Liberty League tournament matchup as the remainder of the teams finish up their conference play. Ithaca secured the No. 3 seed with a 5-3-1 Liberty League record and 16 points secured as they held a tiebreaker over St. Lawrence. Their quarterfinal matchup and game time at Carp Wood Field on Tuesday, October 31 will be posted on the Ithaca men's soccer schedule page later this weekend.
