The Ithaca College men’s soccer team faced the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Engineers on Oct. 28 at Carp Wood Field. The Bombers secured a crucial 2–1 win to secure the No. 3 seed in the Liberty League and advance to the Liberty League Championships.
The game started off with Bomber’s graduate student defender Brendan Lebitsch sending a long through ball downfield to junior midfielder Connor Tierney. It looked as though Tierney was going to have an open shot, however, Engineers’ junior goalkeeper Colin Such was able to get to the ball first.
Shortly after, the Engineers answered back with an attack of their own. The Engineers were able to cross the ball to set up a potential goal. The cross looked beautiful, but sophomore goalkeeper Johannes Berghahn was able to catch the ball while it was in mid-air to stop the rush.
The Bombers got a free kick in the eighth minute after senior midfielder Reefe Harrison was fouled from an opposing player’s sliding tackle. Tierney took the free kick, but his shot was blocked.
Possession change continued to be a trend for both teams, with the Engineers getting the first goal of the game in the 18th minute of the game. Graduate student forward Josh Gaudiano was able to shoot the ball low center off an assist from senior forward Kyle Osborne. The ball deflected off Berghahn and into the goal to make the score 0–1
The remainder of the half remained quiet, however, the Bombers were able to get a great chance at goal in the 41st minute. With an open field in front of him, Sophomore forward Andrew Kusek shot the ball low from the left side of the field, however, the opposing Such was able to make a diving save. The score remained 0–1 going into the locker room.
The Engineers opened the second half with a shot from graduate student midfielder Brady Van Epps in the 45th minute. Van Epps shot the ball middle right of the goal, but Berghahn was able to make a spectacular diving save and catch the ball. The Bombers quickly answered back in the 52nd minute with a goal from sophomore forward Jared Krasnove. After many deflections in the opponent’s box, Krasnove was able to knock the ball in low center to knot the score up at 1–1.
Twenty-four minutes later in the 76th minute, the Bombers were able to score off a penalty kick from first-year defender Gustav Bauerle. Bauerle placed the ball in the bottom left corner of the goal to take a 2–1 lead. After the game, Bauerle talked about what he was feeling during that moment and being able to score the winning goal in such a crucial game.
“Pure joy,” Bauerle said.
Krasnove said that as the team started to play better towards the end of the first half, their confidence rose significantly.
“We just knew we had them,” Krasnove said. “At the end of the first half, we were pinging the ball out [and] getting balls in the box. We just had to get that last touch on the net.”
With the win, the Bombers advance to the first round of the Liberty League Championships. Head coach Garrett Eldridge said that the effort that the players put in was unmatched and that they really worked hard to get to this point.
“Our guys were relentless,” Eldridge said. “I’m so proud of them to finish third in the Liberty League on a final day where you had to get a win to get into the playoffs and to do it where you go down a goal and fight back. I couldn’t be prouder of them.”
Nevertheless, Eldridge talked about the difficulty of the Liberty League. He said that any team in the tournament can succeed regardless of their record or placement, however, he knows the Bombers are capable of pulling through and coming out on top.
“Any team that makes the Liberty League Championships will have a chance to not only win the league, but a chance to really compete nationally,” Eldridge said. “We feel like we have a program that can make a deep run. We’re excited about the next couple of days.”
The Bombers will open up the Liberty League Championships against Vassar College at 2:30 p.m. Oct. 31 at Carp Wood Field.
