A pair of goals in the first half from junior forward Jake Donahue were all the Rochester Institute of Technology Tigers needed to come away with the win over the Ithaca College men’s soccer team on Oct. 30. First-year midfielder Joshua Bourdoulous said the team’s ability to put themselves into position to score often was a bright side to the team’s performance.
“I think we’re creating really good chances,” Bourdoulous said. “I think right now we’re just getting a little unlucky. Moving on to Saturday, I think we’re going to be a lot better with those chances and definitely take them a lot better.”
The Tigers found the back of the net just 47 seconds in as Donahue received a pass and found the top left corner of the goal to give the Tigers an early 1–0 lead. For the first 10 minutes of the game, the Bombers found themselves on defense on several occasions as the Tigers continued to apply pressure.
At the 22:21 mark, Donahue struck again for the Tigers with an unassisted goal, stemming from a turnover on a Bomber throw-in, putting the South Hill Squad in a 2–0 hole. Despite allowing two goals early in the half, the Bombers outshot the Tigers eight to six in the first half. One of those eight shots found the back of the net at the 24:48 mark, cutting the Bombers’ deficit to 2–1 as Bourdoulous punched it through, assisted by junior forward Jared Krasnove and senior midfielder Ikey Borden.
Bourdoulous said the timing of the play was well-executed and that Krasnove’s tip helped to secure the score for the Bombers.
“I kind of went in and I was one of the first players that was in,” Bourdoulous said. “I wasn’t really expecting it to pop to me, but our striker did well. … He got a flick-off header and it just came right to me and I wasn’t missing from there.”
Following Bourdoulous’ score, the Bombers managed to tilt the field in their favor at the end of the first half. In the final five minutes, the Bombers created two free kicks and two corner kicks, with two resulting in shots on goal, but none of them reached the back of the net.
At the start of the second half, the Bombers kept the momentum rolling as the team held the Tigers without a shot on goal in the first 10 minutes. At the 54:31 mark, the Tigers managed a corner kick, but the play was immediately stopped by junior goalkeeper Bryson Shaull.
Around 10 minutes passed by before either team could create a fast break. In the 66th minute of the game, the Bombers had a chance to even up the score as the team saw an opening up the field, but junior midfielder Drew Warren shot the ball just high, ending the threat.
After the Bombers’ attempt to tie the game, the Tigers put down the clamps on defense, shutting down any chance of pulling even. With five minutes remaining, the Tigers saw a breakaway by junior forward Selorm Dake, but Shaull was quick to pounce on the ball.
Following their unsuccessful breakaway, the Tigers managed to keep the ball in the Bombers’ end of the field, milking the clock to secure a 2–1 win on the road.
With positions in the Liberty League Championship on the line and one regular season match remaining, Bourdoulous said the team has its eyes set on a return to the playoffs.
“We’re gonna go out there and give it our all, play harder than we have all season,” Bourdoulous said. “That’s really it right there, laid out for us.”
The Bombers play next at 11 a.m. Nov. 2 at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, to close out the Liberty League schedule.
