ITHACA, N.Y. – In arguably their biggest conference matchup of the season, the Ithaca College women's soccer team hosted the No. 11 ranked William Smith College on Wednesday afternoon. Ithaca scored the only goal of the match netting the effort in the first half, resulting in a 1-0 victory. The Bombers remain unbeaten with a record of 7-0-3, while William Smith's record now stands at 5-3-2.
Both teams had early chances, with William Smith getting an opportunity in the box and a corner kick within the first three minutes. However, the Herons came up empty-handed on both occasions.
It was a different story for the Bombers. On their first corner kick of the day,
Ally Stanton headed in a great cross from
Ava Detorie that was whipped into the center of the box in the 10th minute. The goal was headed into the back of the net and was Stanton's fourth of the season, and the assist was Detorie's seventh which leads the Liberty League.
William Smith's next chance came just a few minutes later, but Ithaca goalie
Grace Hickey stood strong, making a nice save after a shot on goal by Marjorie Plants on a breakaway attempt.
After some good ball control from William Smith, they generated another high-leverage chance in the 31st minute, but once again,
Grace Hickey made a crucial save, this time denying a shot from Kaleigh Darby.
Ithaca and William Smith traded chances late in the first half, but neither resulted in any goals. The game headed into halftime with Ithaca up 1-0, even though William Smith led in shots and corner kicks.
The first chance in the second half came early, as William Smith's Kaleigh Darby fired a shot from the left side of the box in the 47th minute.
Grace Hickey played the ball nicely to keep her clean sheet going.
The game hit a dry spell in the middle of the second half, with each team recording just one shot on goal after Darby's chance until the 86th minute. Before that, William Smith's Lexi Hasbrouck picked up a yellow card in the 76th minute.
In the 86th minute, Ithaca's
Devin Sylvia had a great opportunity from around 20 yards out, but her shot was saved by William Smith goalie Kristen Nelson. Darby had one last chance for William Smith from inside the 18-yard box, but her shot went just wide right of the net.
Ithaca held strong after that and finished the game with a 1-0 victory over the No. 11 team in the nation. Hickey finished the match with three saves, as Ithaca had four shots on goal to William Smith's three.
The Bombers' next match will take place on Saturday, October 5, once again returning to Liberty League action against St. Lawrence University. The game will be played in Ithaca at Carp Wood Field at 3 p.m.
