With Liberty League play nearing on the horizon, the RPI men’s soccer team dropped a tough, 1-0 decision to the Ithaca College Bombers on Saturday. The Red Hawks now stand at 5-2-0 on the season, while Ithaca improves to 5-1-0 with the win.
Following a scoreless first half of play, the lone goal of the match came in the 67th minute when junior Chris Havis found the back of the net for Ithaca. Junior Ata Movassaghi received the assist on the play. That goal was all the Bombers would need on the afternoon, as the Red Hawks were unable to match that score with one of their own. “We made one mistake in the second half, and they scored on it,” said Head Coach Adam Clinton.
RPI was outshot by the Bombers in the match, 10-8. Sophomore Alex Penny recorded six saves in goal in the loss. Bomber goalie Andy Wilhelm stopped all four of the shots he faced from the Red Hawks in the match.
“We went on the road and played pretty well. We just didn’t get a result,” explained Clinton.
After posting 22 goals in their five consecutive victories to open the season, the Red Hawks have now been shut out in two straight matches. Clinton explained that the team is just not finishing on scoring chances. “We are creating opportunities, we’re just not putting them away.”
Of the two-game skid, Clinton noted: “We want to put an end to that. We don’t want to be on a losing streak.”
The team will look to get back on track this weekend when it opens its Liberty League schedule with games at Skidmore College, Friday at 4 pm, and at Union College, Saturday at 2 pm.
The Thoroughbreds now stand at 4-2-2 on the year, and defeated RPI 1-0 in their meeting last season. Clinton noted that Skidmore is “going to be very good on set-pieces,” and pointed out the size of some of their players. He said that the Red Hawks should be able to maintain possession of the ball against the Thoroughbreds.
Rival Union currently sits at 4-1-1. The Red Hawks’ ECAC Upstate Tournament win last year came at the expense of the Dutchmen, as RPI won at Union 2-1 in the championship game. “It was big for us to beat them last year in the ECAC Championship Game,” stated Clinton. The regular season meeting between the squads ended in a scoreless draw.
“They play a disruptive style,” Clinton said of the Dutchmen. The coach added that their style makes it easier for their opponents to make mistakes. Minimizing those miscues will be key to RPI in the matchup.
Clinton repeatedly noted one characteristic with the onset of the Red Hawks’ league play: “intensity,” both in practices and in games. The Red Hawks, and the other seven teams in the Liberty League, will earn three points per victory and one per tie in these league contests. At the end of the season, the top four will compete for the Liberty League title.
“This is the week where we’re really playing for something,” stated Clinton.
After this upcoming weekend, the Red Hawks will return home for three matches over a two-week span, including against Liberty League squads St. Lawrence University and Clarkson University. The next home game for RPI will be October 1 versus SUNY Cobleskill.
