Elmira, N.Y. - The Elmira College men's soccer team hosted the Bombers of Ithaca College Thursday afternoon to close out some unfinished business as Thursday's match was postponed just 30 minutes into the contest due to lightning in the area. A couple of late goals by the Bombers saw the Soaring Eagles fall in their season opener.
LEADERS
Juan Carlos Cruz Gandia led the way for the Soaring Eagles with 14 saves. Juan Ortegon and Alejo Guzman Romero Jr. both went the full 90 minutes.
PLAY-BY-PLAY
The game restarted Thursday afternoon with an Ithaca corner that was well defended by the Soaring Eagles. Ithaca College controlled possession, but the Purple & Gold did well to limit chances as they looked for opportunities on the counterattack. Ryan Irizarry Padilla's free kick forced a strong save from the Bombers' goalkeeper toward the end of the first half.
Juan Carlos Cruz Gandia made a spectacular diving save just five minutes into the second half, which led to an Ithaca corner that was easily cleared by EC. Moments later, he made another save. The Bombers broke through 10 minutes into the half, scoring on a shot that took a massive deflection and was nearly saved by Cruz Gandia.
Elmira had a chance in front of goal around the 60-minute mark, but the Ithaca defense did well to recover and prevent a shot. Cruz Gandia made a pair of spectacular saves within a minute with 20 minutes remaining, the first a kick save on an Ithaca one-on-one opportunity before making a sprawling fingertip save.
Daniel Mercedes nearly found the equalizer for EC when his shot from 30 yards out hit the crossbar. Moments later, an Ithaca penalty gave the Bombers a 2-0 lead with eight minutes remaining. Cruz Gandia made another one-on-one save with six minutes left, but Ithaca headed in a third goal on the ensuing corner to finish the game with a 3-0 victory.
UP NEXT
The Soaring Eagles will remain at Campus Field this Saturday, September 5 with a matchup against The College of New Jersey. Game time is slated for 1:00 PM.
For the latest and most up-to-date information on Elmira College Athletics, please visit athletics.elmira.edu. Follow us on Twitter - @ECSoaringEagles, Instagram - @ecsoaringeagles, YouTube - @ECSoaringEagles, and Facebook by searching Elmira College Athletics
