ITHACA, N.Y. – The Ithaca College men's soccer program celebrated its four seniors Conor Baird, Reefe Harrison, Ian Whitfield and Thaib Abidi as well as student assistant coach Ian Oltman in a pregame ceremony and the Bombers responded in a big way on Saturday coming up with a 3-0 win over Bard. The Bombers didn't allow a Bard shot on target as they found the back of the net twice in the first half and added an insurance effort during the final 45 minutes of play.

The Bombers looked to dominate possession in the opening minutes and that nearly led to a goal in the second minute when Gustav Bauerle got behind the defensive backline but his shot attempt sailed above the cross bar. Ithaca continued to press and it was rewarded for its efforts at the 16:15 mark when Leo Morris sent through Conor Baird who scissor kicked his shot attempt into the bottom left corner for his second goal of the season.

Ithaca doubled up its lead in the 40^th minute as this time Jared Krasnove assisted a Jack Nelson goal as he bested the Raptors goalkeeper with his strike. Overall, Ithaca dominated the first 45 minutes with seven shot attempts to go along with four corner kick opportunities.

The final Bombers goal was scored by junior midfielder Connor Tierney who displayed nice skill to dribble past a pair of Raptors defenders and unleashed a shot from 11 yards out that was nothing but net. This solo effort was Tierney's first goal of the 2023 campaign and the fifth of his career.

Ian Whitfield got the start in net for IC and he earned his fifth career shutout. Drew Warren, Gustav Bauerle, Conor Baird, Ikey Borden and Jack Nelson each managed two shots apiece as the Bombers outshot Bard by a 14-3 margin.

Ithaca (3-1-2) will continue its Liberty League campaign when they host Hobart College on Wednesday, September 27 at 4 p.m. The Statesmen will enter the contest off a 2-1 win over Skidmore and have a 2-4-1 record this season.