ITHACA, N.Y. - The nationally ranked No. 21 Ithaca College men's soccer team played to a 1-1 draw against Vassar College on a cloudy Saturday afternoon on Carp Wood Field. The result moves the Bombers to 6-0-2 on the season as they celebrated Alumni Day as well as honoring the legacy and memory of Bomber standout James Bredin '91.
Ithaca struck early in the match when
Riley Donelan launched a long ball downfield toward the Vassar box.
Jack Carney capitalized by stripping the ball from both a defender and the goalkeeper, then calmly tapped it in to give the Bombers a 1-0 lead. It was Carney's second goal of the season and the seventh of his collegiate career.
Vassar responded just five minutes later when Mauricio Mejia connected with Jared Fiske, who found space in front of the goal and slotted home the equalizer in the 18th minute. From there, both teams tightened up defensively. In the 40th minute,
CJ Abbott nearly broke the deadlock with a shot that deflected off a defender, then the crossbar, before going out of play.
Early in the second half,
Ryan Levy redirected a pass from close range, but Vassar goalkeeper Jacob Raphan made a sliding save to deny the chance. Ithaca's defense continued to hold strong, limiting the Brewers' opportunities on goal.
In the closing minutes, the Bombers had one final opportunity to take the lead. Donelan fired a shot that looked destined for the net, but Raphan made a fingertip save to preserve the 1–1 tie.
The Bombers outshot Vassar by a 12-10 margin as the visitors did have the edge in corner kick chances at 7-3.
Ithaca (6-0-2), one of seven teams in Division III to remain unbeaten, returns to action on Tuesday at 4 p.m. for a non-conference matchup against Hamilton College.
