No. 18 Stevens Defeats Ithaca 2-1 to Advance to Empire 8 Final
HOBOKEN, N.J. (November 4, 2011) – Senior Zach Bowman (La Plata, Md.) scored the first Stevens goal and assisted on the second as the Stevens Institute of Technology men’s soccer team downed Ithaca College 2-1 on Friday to earn a spot in Sunday’s Empire 8 Championship Game. Victor Daza (North Plainfield, N.J.) scored the game-winning goal for the Ducks, who have now won 14-straight games.
The Ducks dominated most of the first half, controlled possession throughout the first 40 minutes and were also aided by a strong North wind at their backs. With Stevens buzzing around the Ithaca cage less than five minutes in, Pete Bednarsky (Hackettstown, N.J.) drilled a shot from the top of the circle that was saved but struck so hard that goalkeeper Jordan Gentile (Syracuse, N.Y.) could not hang on to it. The ball bounced to the right side of the net, where Bowman was wide open and waiting for the rebound. The senior knocked it through to give Stevens the early 1-0 lead.
The Ducks would continue to control the game for a long stretch following the goal, allowing just one shot on goal over the afternoon. The Bombers made the most of that shot, however, as James Shankland (Pleasantville, N.Y.) advanced the ball deep in the Stevens zone win the 39th minute. His first shot attempt was blocked down by a defender, but the rebound came right back to him and he was able to jam it in the Ducks’ net for the equalizer late in the first half.
The teams headed into the break with Stevens leading in shots 8-5 but the Bombers holding a 3-2 lead in corner kicks. In addition to their goal, three more Stevens shots were on net.
As the teams switched sides for the second half, the Bombers now had the aid of the wind blowing away from their goal – a sizeable advantage in a tight postseason match. Nevertheless, it was Stevens who came out hot, racking up a string of six unanswered shots to start the period.
It was during this barrage that Daza scored the game-winner – a cross into the box from Bowman that allowed Daza to beat the goaltender to the right at 54:04 as the Ducks regained the lead.
Stevens played lockdown defense for the rest of the afternoon, not allowing another Ithaca shot until the 78th minute of the game. With six minutes remaining, senior Anthony Roden (Red Creek, N.Y.) broke up the Bomber’s best scoring chance of the second half, outracing the Ithaca attacker and booting the dangerous loose ball away from the Stevens net.
Stevens doubled up Ithaca on the scoreboard and in the shot total, 16 to 8…Gentile made six saves for Ithaca…the Bombers led in corner kicks, 5 to 4.
Stevens will host the Empire 8 Championship game on Sunday versus third-seeded Elmira College at 12 noon. The Soaring Eagles advanced to the final in a shootout win over Nazareth College earlier on Friday. Stevens will be looking for its eighth-straight conference championship.