The Ithaca College women’s soccer team took back its field Sept. 28 in its game against the Bard College Raptors at Carp Wood Field. The Bombers outshot Bard 35 to one, winning with ease at 7-0.
The first goal of the game was made by graduate student midfielder Sarah Sinnott, with assistance from junior defender Ali Amari, just three minutes into the game. This early goal played a big part in the Bombers’ senior day win, and gave head coach Mindy Quigg the opportunity to show what her players could do.
“Everybody got to showcase what they’re capable of doing,” Quigg said. “When you have the luxury of scoring a couple of goals early, it allows everybody an opportunity to show their part.”
This score seemed to push the Raptors and they attempted to fight back, but a foul on the Raptors’ junior midfielder Carina Cooke led to the Bombers’ second goal. Senior Bombers’ defender Allison Heft took the penalty shot, sending the ball straight through the goalkeeper and into the back of the net.
The Bombers kept this energy high, scoring yet another goal with just seven minutes left in the first half. Amari saw a shot on goal and took it, dribbling straight through the defense and the Raptors goalkeeper and propelling the ball into the bottom right of the net.
It was during the second half, though, that the Bombers truly shot forward. They descended back onto the pitch, focused solely on keeping their lead. Quigg saw her chance, and decided to rotate an almost entirely new set of players onto the field.
“To change it up, we put a bunch of different players in,” Quigg said. “It was a little bit quicker, I think, and the mentality was to press us up a level higher.”
Sinnott scored again seven minutes into the second half, sending the ball through the high left. After that, it was a barrage of goals by the Bombers. They kept the ball almost solely on the Bard side of the pitch, never letting up.
Quigg said they used the second half to focus on how they could be better as a team.
“Changing the point of attack, and making our passes cleaner and sharper, and working on our movement off the ball with our runs,” Quigg said. “There’s always a lot to work on, and it’s nice when you can work on it against somebody that’s not your own team.”
It was this work that helped the Bombers score two more goals nearly back-to-back. Sophomore midfielder Mia Medearis sent the ball into the high left side of the net, and just five minutes later, first-year defender and midfielder Kylee Farrer pushed toward the low right side, giving the Bombers a 6-0 lead.
But the fight wasn’t over. With thirty minutes left, the Bombers refused to let Bard by for even a single goal. A foul on Bard player Alexandria Loner gave the Bombers a chance at a penalty kick, which first-year midfielder Lily Fusco landed with ease, putting the College at 7-0 with seven minutes left.
That seven minutes proved to be a success for the defensive line, as they pushed back against the Raptors. The team left the field celebrating, having scored its first three points in the Liberty League.
You get a win, you get three points,” Quigg said. “That’s what we were looking for. So we’re happy about that. We didn’t have injuries, we got everybody in the game, so it’s good. … It was a good opportunity to acknowledge our seniors.”
The Bombers will host next at 4 p.m. Oct. 2, in a face-off against William Smith College at Carp Wood Field.
