Engineers diffuse Bombers, end season with draw

A 1-0 lead at the end of the first half was not enough for the Engineers to clinch a victory over the Ithaca Bombers, but allowed them to tie the game at one goal apiece.

The game opened up with a shot on the Rensselaer net less than a minute into the game. Three more shots were taken before the five-minute mark, two for Ithaca and one for the Engineers. This offensive attack strategy would continue on both sides throughout the first half, though it remained unsuccessful in the first twenty minutes. The Engineers were almost put on the board when Kedy Nana received a penalty kick for the Engineers. However, the kick missed, and the game remained scoreless.

Even so, the Engineers retained a commanding possession of the ball in the first half, resulting in a goal at the twenty-two minute mark. A long pass from Benjamin Dionisio went deep into the Ithaca goalie box, allowing Landon Bradley to head the ball past the Bombers goalkeeper and bring the Engineers up to a 1-0 lead. This goal marked Bradley’s first and only for the season. Ithaca responded with eight more shots on goal in the first half, resulting in one save for Engineer goalkeeper Noah Churchill.

Rensselaer had to hold onto its 1-0 lead for the entirety of the second half in order to claim victory. Tensions rose between the two sides, and Rensselaer’s defense went into overdrive. Ithaca’s shot count in the second half went down from eleven in the first half to just seven, though Churchill had to make three saves after catching just one in the first half.

Ithaca eventually got their chance at a goal when a free throw got sent to the deep right corner of the Engineers’ side of the field. Bomber Jack Longo headed the ball past Rensselaer’s defense, allowing Ithaca to set up an unguarded shot in the middle of the goalie box. Ithaca made the shot and brought the score up to a 1-1 tie. Despite heavy attacks from both offenses and four shots from Rensselaer in the last five minutes, no more goals were scored and the game ended in a draw between the Engineers and the Bombers.

The tie sees the Engineers finish their season with a 3-11-3 record, and a 1-5-3 record in the Liberty League. As the ninth ranked team in the conference, they will not move on to the league tournament. The box score for this game can be found here.