Men’s soccer fights to draw with SUNY Cortland

The No. 21 Ithaca College men’s soccer team travelled to face off against the No. 9 SUNY Cortland Red Dragons on Sept. 17 in a match that ended in a dramatically tense 0-0 draw. The energetic match put an end to a four-season period where the Bombers were unable to evade defeat from their rivals, going back to the 2019 season. The game was the Bombers’ only matchup against a ranked team for the remainder of regular season play.

The Bombers set the tone early in front of a crowd of over 500, posing a threatening attack just six minutes into the match.

Sophomore forward Emmett Enriquez picked up the ball in a dangerous position deep in the Cortland half and looked up as his eyes were met with Bomber attackers making runs into the box. With the laces of his boot, Enriquez floated his pass over the heads of the Red Dragon defenders. Junior midfielder Liam Breslin brought the ball down on the left side of the box, and placed the ball in the bottom right corner with the inside of his right foot.

As quickly as they began, celebrations were halted by the raised flag of the linesman. Luckily for the Bombers, the offside goal was not nearly the last goalscoring opportunity that would be produced. 

Following the disallowed strike from Breslin, the Bombers settled into the game nicely. The next 20 minutes of the first half saw three Bomber shots on goal, the most dangerous of the bunch coming from corner kicks. 

Junior forward Jack Carney’s low header in the crowded box was not difficult for Cortland senior goalkeeper Jordan Ott to deal with. Senior defender Myles Ryan could not get enough power on his header to provide Ott with any trouble, despite placing it in the top left corner. 

Scoring chances came few and far between for the remainder of the first half, despite the Bombers controlling the pace of play on and off of the ball and playing comfortably in the Cortland half. Graduate student midfielder Jack Longo contributed heavily to this cause, putting in a hard-working shift to ensure the South Hill squad stayed in control. 

In addition to Longo’s efforts, the Bombers were a defensive wall. Set up in 4-2-3-1 when out of possession, head coach Gabe Kuhn’s side ensured that Red Dragon touches in the attacking half were rare. 

Going into the break, the Bombers were playing with confidence, possessing everything they needed besides a goal. Kuhn felt optimistic heading into half-time.

“I just told them to relax,” Kuhn said. “If we win the second half, we beat the ninth best [Division III] team in the country.”

The Bombers used the second-half kickoff to pass the ball directly out of bounds in the Red Dragons’ half, allowing themselves to set up their press in the final third. 

The second half began with the Red Dragons holding the advantage because they began to put more pressure on the Bomber back line. Cortland attacks almost exclusively came from wing play, resulting in many crosses into the box. As usual, senior goalkeeper Bryson Shaull was up for the task. 

“Coming and getting balls out of the air is so huge,” Shaull said. “If you can be good at interrupting and preventing shots before they even develop into a shot, it makes it easier on our back line.”

Shaull faced continuous pressure throughout the match, gracefully leaping through the air to sniff out floating crosses, claiming overhit through balls and consistently putting an end to Cortland’s attacks.

The Bombers began to build momentum with 20 minutes remaining. With both teams’ benches on their feet for the entire match, the game’s energy and intensity was nearing its climax.

Junior midfielder Cameron Wooten’s signature flipping throw-in from the left side field soared through the brisk nighttime air, and over the reach of Ott. The ball’s path entered a crowded area of bodies at the back post, meeting the inside of graduate student midfielder Ikey Borden’s right foot. From inside the six-yard box, the ball traveled towards the right corner of the goal’s netting, only to be met by a Red Dragon defender, clearing the ball away from danger.

The game’s cadence reached its maximum level of intensity entering its final minutes, with each side desperately searching for a late winner. 

On a counter attack down the left wing, Enriquez found himself in a familiar position after weaving in and around Red Dragon defenders. Driving the ball towards the Cortland back line, Enriquez played a pass to Carney’s feet on the top of the box. Carney, cutting inside to his right, struck a finesse shot with the inside of his right foot, with the hopes of curling the ball just inside the far post. The ball flew by the post, and the Bombers’ last chance of the game had flown by.

Despite ending in a goalless draw, the game’s energy and tactical intrigue was hard to deny.

“We knew it would be a tough game coming here to Cortland,” Longo said. “We wanted to show them that we’re here and that we’re a new team.”

The result had implications of what is to come later in the season, according to Kuhn.

“If we’re in a good place against them, I think we’ll be in a good place in the Liberty League,” Kuhn said. “We know now that we can hang with anybody in the country.”

The Bombers return home at 2:30 p.m. Sept. 20 for their next match, where they take on the Moravian University Greyhounds at Carp Wood Field.