The Ithaca College men’s soccer team tied SUNY Cortland 0–0 September 4 at the Stadium Complex in Cortland, NY.
The rivalry match provided a double overtime thriller in which neither team could manage to find the back of the net in the scoreless tie.
The Bombers backline proved to be the story of the night. The Red Dragons came out of the locker room hot, dominating possession, and creating good chances. However, the Blue and Gold defense held steady and organized, shutting down any Cortland attack. Freshman defender Thomas Pierce, sophomore defender Ben Quatresols, and junior defender Justinian Michaels held down the fort for the entire 110 minutes. Sophomore defender Tom Dillmann put in a lengthy shift in the back as well for 105 minutes. The opening half of play concluded with the Bombers beginning to move the ball up the field, and garnering more possession in the midfield.
When the 2nd half of play began, it was the Blue and Gold who found themselves on the front foot. Junior striker Max Barish fired his first opportunity of the half over the bar. Senior striker Nate Mansfield and Barish saw a number of chances playing as the high men up top for the South Hill squad. The Bombers attack was centered around hold-up play from both men, and despite not finding the back of the net, the Blue and Gold looked dangerous going forward early in the 2nd half.
In the 60th minute, the Red Dragons responded in kind with a promising chance of their own. Red Dragon’s sophomore midfielder Jake Kaufman found himself on a fast break down the left sideline, and his shot from the left side of the box just missed wide of the far post. With that chance, the tide began to shift back in Cortland’s favor.
For the remainder of regular time, both teams traded blows, and both goalkeepers were looked to in order to hold the tie. Red Dragon’s junior goaltender Sean Kelly made a save on the Bomber’s freshman midfielder Theo Scott. In the dying minutes of the half, sophomore goaltender Max Lichtenstein responded with a clutch save off the boot of Red Dragon’s junior midfielder Miguel Tunas.
The first period of overtime didn’t provide any action until the final minute of the extra ten. A shot from the top of the box by the Red Dragon’s junior midfielder Jake Keller was blocked in front of goal, and the ensuing rebound fell back onto the foot of Keller. From the center of the box, Keller put his second opportunity over the top of the bar, sending the match into a second overtime.
Again, it wasn’t until the last minute of the period that any chance was generated by either side. It was Keller once again who shot a free kick off the Bomber’s wall. The resulting corner kick was cleared by the Bomber’s backline, and time expired on the match.The Red Dragon’s outshot the Bombers by a total of 16 to 7, only 3 of which for Cortland were on goal to go along with 1 for the Blue and Gold.
The Bomber’s will be back in action at 3 p.m. September 8 when they hit the road to face Elmira College at Campus Field in Elmira, NY.
