WILKES-BARRE, Pa. — The Ithaca College men's soccer team picked up its second straight shutout to open the 2026 season, defeating King's College 2-0 at McCarthy Stadium on Saturday, September 12.
Ithaca controlled the run of play from the start, but King's defense held firm through the opening 45 minutes, and the two sides went into halftime scoreless.
The Bombers didn't let up, however, and their pressure finally broke through in the second half. In the 66th minute,
Emile Antoine put Ithaca on the board, burying a shot to the high center of the net off an assist from
CJ Abbott to make it 1-0. This marks Antoine's first career tally.
The Bombers wasted little time adding to the lead, as
Kloden Rapp found the back of the net just five minutes later in the 71st minute, also finishing high center, with
Liam Breslin picking up the assist to push the score to 2-0.
King's tried to crawl back into the match late, generating a handful of chances in the final minutes, including a missed look from Mordocher Musinguzi in the 89th minute and a free kick opportunity in stoppage time, but Ithaca's back line and goalkeeping held strong to preserve the clean sheet.
Statistically, the Bombers dominated across the board. Ithaca out-shot King's 19-10 for the match and held a commanding 5-1 edge in shots on goal.
In net, Ithaca's goalkeeper made a single save to secure the shutout, while King's keeper turned away three shots but ultimately couldn't keep pace with the Bombers' offensive pressure, facing 19 shots to Ithaca's 10.
The Bombers also won the fouls battle 13-11, forced King's into six offside calls compared to just one of their own, and the two sides were even on corners at 5-5. Ithaca also picked up four yellow cards to King's two, with neither team seeing red on the day.
IC will remain on the road as it travels to Morrisville State on Wednesday, September 16 for a 7 p.m. meeting with the Mustangs.
