ITHACA, NY - Ithaca College maintained its undefeated Empire 8 record with a 7-0 win over Hartwick women's soccer this afternoon at Carp Wood Field. The Hawks fall to 5-7-2 and 2-3-2 in conference play. The Bombers, ranked 7th in the latest NSCAA national poll, improved to 11-2 overall and 7-0 in conference.
Ithaca opened up the scoring two minutes, 42 seconds into the game when Rachael Palladino scored on a rebound. Hartwick goalkeeper Alyssa Ronda (Saco, ME/Thorton Academy) denied two point blank Bomber shots but the second trickled away from her allowing Palladino to touch the ball in from close range. It would be her first of three tallies on the day.
Julie Winn picked up two goals on the day for IC to go along with Palladino's strikes. Kelly Gannon earned her first goal of the season and Ericka Ilkanich closed out the scoring in the 88th minute for the Bombers.
Freshman Emily Williams (Homer, NY/Homer) had the best scoring chance for Hartwick six minutes before halftime which would have cut the deficit to 3-1. Following an indirect kick, Williams curled a shot at the right post but her effort was pushed away by IC keeper Jessica Platt.
Platt, Alyssa Sotomayor, and Becca Salant combined for the shutout in the Ithaca goal. Rondo made four saves in the opening 65 minutes of play for the Hawks. Kelly Griffin (Wynantskill, NY/Columbia) played the final 25 minutes in goal.
Ithaca squares off against Nazareth College on Saturday at Carp Wood Field. The winner clinches the Empire 8 regular-season title and the right to host the Empire 8 playoffs in November.
Hartwick is still alive for the final playoff spot with one game to play. The Hawks play #18 Stevens Institute of Technology on Saturday at 2 p.m. at Elmore Field. 'Wick remains tied for fourth place with RIT with a 2-3-2 record. The Tigers, who hold the tie-breaker over the Hawks with an earlier season victory, host Elmira on Saturday at 1 p.m. in their final E8 match.
