A late goal by graduate student midfielder Megan Buttinger gave the Ithaca College women’s soccer team a narrow 1–0 victory over the St. Lawrence University Saints on Oct. 1.
Though the Bombers out-shot the Saints 16–5 during the course of the game, it looked like it would wind up a scoreless tie until Buttinger found the net in the 69th minute. Seven different Bombers saw opportunities in the game that improved the team’s record to 6–2–2 and 2–1 in the Liberty League.
The game was chippy from the start, as junior forward Rosie Bostian earned a foul in the second minute. Bostian attempted to kick the ball, but a Saints defender got close and ended up taking a knee to the head. After a lengthy pause, the defender was removed from the game, and play resumed.
The Bombers got going soon after, earning a corner kick in the third minute and sending four shots, one on goal, toward the St. Lawrence net, before the Saints managed their first shot of the contest in the 18th minute.
In the 35th minute, the Saints would get their best opportunity of the game, notching two shots on goal in a 12-second span, but both were saved by junior goalkeeper Claire Reader. Reader would get her fourth save of the game two minutes later, but it would be her last until the 89th minute.
The teams went into the half tied at 0, and although the Bombers were out-shooting the Saints 10–4 in the half, the Saints led the Bombers in shots on goal by a margin of 4–2. The South Hill squad had plenty of chances, but could not keep the shots on target.
The second half started the same way as the first, with the Bombers getting plenty of chances to score early, but failing to find the net. The Saints had a chance of their own in the 61st minute when Reader got tied up on a free kick, but the ball sailed harmlessly out of bounds.
In the 69th, Buttinger would take the ball into the box and make a defender miss, before deking out the goalkeeper and sending a shot to the left corner to give the Bombers the late lead. Though both teams had more opportunities later in the game, Buttinger’s goal would prove to be the only one for either team.
Senior defender Rachel Richards said after the game that she was happy the Bombers finally scored a goal after out-shooting their opponents by so much for all of the match.
“It felt good to finally get a result from all of the hard work we didn,” Richards said. “Looking forward, we just want to stay composed and finish our chances.”
The Bombers will be back in action at 4 p.m. Oct. 5 when they host Alfred University at Carp Wood Field.
