The Ithaca College men’s soccer team captured its second consecutive win of the season Sept. 3, improving its record on the season to 2-0-0. The South Hill crowd was treated to three goals, two of them coming from the penalty spot. IC’s 3-0 win over the Elmira College Soaring Eagles marked another clean sheet for the young squad, a team with Liberty League Championship title aspirations.
IC’s starting 11 got off to a quick start in the game’s first 15 minutes. The team dominated the physical battles up and down each wing, whilst preventing the opposing Soaring Eagles from building out of the back.
The Bombers’ early dominance could not lead the squad to finding the back of the net, despite the efforts of junior midfielder Cameron Wooten. His acrobatic flipping long throw-ins, along with his crosses into the box, found the feet of Bomber attackers, but both chances ended with the ball sailing over the bar.
The 16th minute saw one of the Soaring Eagles’ best chances of the night. A counter-attack led to senior forward Horacio Vicioso finding the ball at his feet at the top of the box with space in front of him. His left-footed shot curled just past the top right corner and past the outstretched arms of Bomber senior goalkeeper Bryson Shaull.
The pace of the match slowed until two minutes before halftime when first-year midfielder LJ Melucci took a big first touch that broke through the Soaring Eagles’ defensive line. Melucci, one-on-one with the Elmira goalkeeper on the left side of the 6-yard box, rolled the ball onto his left foot in an attempt to leave the goalkeeper exposed in front of his net. Melucci fell as he took his shot and was denied by a last-ditch effort from the goalkeeper’s flying body.
A disappointing first half for the Bombers was followed by a second half that saw all of the game’s scoring. Three minutes into the second half, another long throw-in from Wooten was redirected by the head of junior striker Jack Carney. The ball traveled from the top right corner of the 6-yard box, bouncing across the face of the goal, past the Elmira goalkeeper, before crossing the line into the bottom-left corner.
The goal opened up Carney’s scoring tally for the year. It also marked Wooten’s first assist of the season in a game where Wooten would continue to be crucial to IC’s attack.
About 20 minutes later, almost halfway through the second period of play, Wooten began breaking through the Soaring Eagles’ defense once again. Picking up the ball shallow in the Elmira half, Wooten made a spectacular run all the way into the opposing box before being taken down from behind, winning a penalty for his side.
“I’d be lying if I said it’s not tough in practice sometimes,” Wooten said. “But it shows here that it’s worth it.”
Junior midfielder Gustav Bauerle stepped up to take the penalty, calmly passing the ball right down the middle goal, as the Elmira goalkeeper dove to the right side. The penalty conversion marked Bauerle’s first goal of the season.
Soon after their second goal, the Bombers found themselves at the penalty spot once again, due to a dangerously high kick from an Elmira defender. This time it was senior midfielder Drew Warren who stepped up to take the penalty. With a quick run up, Warren took a drop-step, sending the goalkeeper diving to the left side before confidently slotting the ball in the bottom right-hand corner. This goal was Warren’s first of the young season.
With a comfortable 3-0 lead, the Bombers saw out the last 15 minutes of the game. IC gained their second win and their second clean sweep of the season. Head coach Gabe Kuhn talked post-game about his team’s success.
“I think the biggest thing is just our [defensive] shape,” Kuhn said. “[We’re] really disciplined [and] really organized.”
Wooten stood out in the Bomber attack all game.
“We’re undefeated right now,” Wooten said. “I really couldn’t ask for anything more.”
The last time the Bombers began a season with two straight victories was the 2021 season. In that year, the team made a run to the Liberty League championship game. Coach Kuhn commented on the importance of starting the season strong.
“[The win] is really big,” Kuhn said “We need as much momentum as possible throughout the season [to] get some confidence [in the team].”
The Bombers improved to 2-0-0 and will play five more out-of-conference games until their first Liberty League matchup. Their next match is 2 p.m. Sept. 6 at Carp Wood Field, where they will host the SUNY Geneseo Knights, a team that the IC men’s soccer program has not matched up against in over a decade.
Editor’s note: Gustav Bauerle was a design editor at The Ithacan in Fall 2024.
