Elmira, N.Y. — The Ithaca College men's soccer team opened its 2026 season in style, shutting out the Elmira Soaring Eagles 3-0 at Campus Field on Wednesday afternoon. The match kicked off on Tuesday evening, getting nearly 30 minutes in before being halted due to weather concerns and completed on Wednesday.
Once the Bombers finally returned to the field, they made the wait worth it, putting Elmira's defense under pressure early.
CJ Abbott registered the game's first shot just five minutes in, and
Jack Carney and
Noah Partenza each tested Elmira goalkeeper Juan Carlos Cruz Gandia multiple times, but Gandia stood tall in net, turning away shot after shot to keep the match scoreless.
Elmira had its moments too, with Ryan Padilla forcing a save from Ithaca keeper
Brayden Milbrandt in the 41st minute and Aadne Aarstad firing a shot of his own moments later, but the Soaring Eagles' offense was otherwise kept quiet. The two sides went into the half deadlocked at 0-0, despite Ithaca holding an 11-2 shot advantage in the opening 45 minutes.
The Bombers broke through just ten minutes into the second half. In the 55th minute,
Jack Carney buried a shot to the bottom left corner for his first goal of the season, giving Ithaca a 1-0 lead. Carney and the Bombers continued to press, with Partenza,
Anthony Cocca,
Joshua Bourdoulous all generating quality looks that Gandia continued to deny.
Elmira nearly answered in the 80th minute when Daniel Mercedes rattled the crossbar, but Ithaca extended its lead moments later. After a foul inside the box,
Nick Dignazio confidently converted from the penalty spot in the 81st minute to make it 2-0 with his second career goal.
The Bombers weren't finished, with just under six minutes to play, freshman
Declan Clark buried his first collegiate goal off an assist from classmate
Edin Estrada, capping the scoring at 3-0 in the 84th minute.
Milbrandt earned the shutout in goal for Ithaca, making one save on the night, while Gandia kept Elmira competitive despite the lopsided score, finishing with 14 saves on 17 shots on goal. Ithaca out-shot Elmira 28-4 for the match and won the corner-kick battle 14-3.
The Bombers will remain on the road as they had to SUNY Geneseo on Saturday, September 5th, for a 3 p.m. matchup.
