ITHACA, N.Y. – The Ithaca College football went toe-to-toe with nationally ranked No. 5 The College at Brockport on Saturday afternoon at Butterfield Stadium, but wound up on the wrong end of a 13-7 decision in the non-conference battle. Last season, the Bombers were blanked by Brockport, 31-0, and the Golden Eagles won their 13 contests in 2017 by an average of 26.5 points. Ithaca is now 1-1 on the season, while Brockport improves to 2-0.
It was a defensive battle through the majority of the first half as neither team cracked the scoreboard until Brockport punched in a 3-yard touchdown pass from Joe Germinerio to Joseph Ortiz with 1:54 remaining in the second quarter. The Golden Eagles added a field goal at the end of the first half on a 32-yard kick by Dustin Moyle with 17 seconds to go.
The field goal came after an interception by the Brockport defense that set up the offense at midfield with just over a minute on the clock.
Ithaca earned the first possession of the game and freshman Kevin Schoch gave the Bombers offense solid starting field position with a 34-yard kickoff return.
The Bombers would then march 45 yards on 11 plays, which brought them down to the Brockport 21-yard line, but the drive stalled there and IC turned the ball over on downs.
Brockport took over with 10:02 on the clock and brought the ball out to midfield before it was forced to punt.
IC started its second possession of the contest deep in its own territory at the 13. The Bombers were unable to move the sticks and punted after three plays.
The Golden Eagles began their next drive near the midfield stripe and converted a first down after an IC 15-yard penalty to push the ball to the Ithaca 38-yard line. Three plays later, Brockport faced a 4th-and-3 at the IC 31-yard line, but turned the ball over as senior Ralf Silva came up with a drive-stalling tackle on a completed slant at the 30.
Ithaca would once again go three-and-out and punted the ball back with eight seconds left in the opening quarter.
The Bombers took over after a three-and-out by Brockport, and were set up deep in Brockport territory on a 27-yard punt return by Schoch, which placed IC at the Brockport 21-yard line just 18 seconds in the second quarter.
IC could not capitalize on the great field position and missed a 39-yard field goal.
The former Empire 8 Conference rivals would trade punts on the next two possessions, but Brockport came out on the winning end of the field battle, as an 8-yard punt by Ithaca set the Golden Eagles up at the Ithaca 40-yard line with 9:11 to go in the half.
Brockport drove the ball down inside the Ithaca 10-yard line, and on 2nd-and-4 at the 9-yard line, senior Pat Minogue forced a fumble and fellow senior Tyler Kishbaugh scooped it up to thwart the scoring opportunity.
After another IC punt, which traveled to the Brockport 49, the Golden Eagles took over with 5:59 left and chewed up more than four minutes, which resulted in the 3-yard touchdown pass from Germinerio to Ortiz. The Golden Eagles converted on a pair of third down plays during the drive.
Ithaca gave the ball back on its second play on an interception to set up the 39-yard field goal to end the half.
Brockport put three more points on the board on its opening drive of the second half on a 19-yard make by Moyle to make the score 13-0. That scoring drive lasted 13 plays, covered 68 yards and took up nearly six minutes of time.
With just over seven minutes remaining in the third, IC started at its own 14 after a punt. The Bombers quickly moved the ball up the field, as sophomore Wahid Nabi connected with sophomore Andrew Vito for 16 yards on the first play from scrimmage. Two plays later, sophomore Hayden Frey found junior Kendall Anderson for 22 yards, and Nabi once again hit Vito for 10 to move the ball inside Brockport territory. On the play, Brockport was flagged 15 yards to push IC up to the 23.
On the next snap, senior Peter Palczewski hit Frey in the end zone for a 23-yard touchdown, but the play was called back on offensive pass interference. The Bombers would then turn the ball over on a fumble two plays later.
The fumble was returned for a touchdown by Brockport, but it was for not, as a block in the back negated the score.
The quarter ended on a bizarre set up plays as Ithaca started at its own 9-yard line with one second on the clock. Brockport would be called for back-to-back pass interferences to continue the period, but it came to an end on offsetting penalties.
IC punted just a minute in the fourth quarter, and Minogue boomed a career-long 50-yard punt to flip field position.
Brockport would, however, answer with a sustained drive, but came up empty as a 32-yard field goal attempt sailed wide right with 6:59 left in the game. The Golden Eagles put together a 12-play drive and ripped off 57 yards before the missed chance.
After three minutes elapse, the Bombers set up shop at its own 28-yard line with 3:38 left. IC was up against a 4th-and-4 and failed to convert, but a defensive holding penalty continued the drive.
Palczewski began the next set of downs with an 11-yard strike to senior Anthony Capozzi, but after back-to-back incompletions and an 8-yard sack, Ithaca was up against a 4th-and-18. On the snap, Palczewski bought himself time and found Vito for 19 yards up to the Brockport 34-yard line with 1:43 to go in the game.
Brockport would call a timeout to regroup and then Palczewski connected with Vito for a 34-yard touchdown down the middle of the field to bring the Bombers to within a score with 1:38 to go. It was the first career touchdown pass for Palczewski. IC covered 72 yards on drive, which was its best possession of the contest.
The Golden Eagles would fall on the ensuing onside kick and ran the clock out to come away with a 13-7 victory.
Ithaca was outgained in the contest, 309-180. The Bombers recorded 156 yards through the air as Palczewski went 6-for-12 for 77 yards and Nabi was 12-of-30 for 57 yards. Vito notched eight receptions for 84 yards.
Brockport controlled the clock for more than 37 minutes and was 8-for-21 on third down, while the Bombers were just 1-of-13.
Defensively, the Bombers held Brockport to 274 fewer yards than its previous game against Hobart. The Golden Eagles also punted eight times, compared to zero a week ago.
Senior Ryan Bronson led the charge with 14 total tackles (six solo), while Minogue notched 13 stops to go along with the forced fumble. Junior Nick Garone recorded nine tackles and Silva added eight.
Ithaca heads to Alfred University next Saturday, September 15, for a 1 p.m. kickoff at Yunevich Stadium. The Bombers dropped a 20-17 contest to the Saxons to open the 2017 season last fall.