SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – The Union College women's soccer team dominated play in the second half and scored the match's only two goals 9:04 apart in the final 15 minutes to remain unbeaten in Liberty League play with a 2-0 victory over Ithaca College on Saturday afternoon at College Park Field.
The victory keeps Union (5-3-6, 3-0-3 Liberty League) as one of only two unbeaten teams in the conference and bumps the Garnet Chargers into second place in the standings with three matches remaining. By earning a point in its sixth straight Liberty League game, Union is off to its best conference start since going 6-0-1 on the way to its sixth conference title in 2006.
Before the game, the women's soccer team also recognized the life of former Union women's soccer player Lizzie Dankert, who passed away over the summer. The team wore special Dankert 17 shirts in warmups and LD17 patches on their jerseys, and also presented Lizzie's parents with a framed 17 jersey.
Junior
Julia Bancheri played a role in both goals for Union in the win, scoring the game-winning goal in the 76th minute and then assisting on an insurance goal by senior
Hannah Sams in the 85th minute.
Ithaca (5-3-4, 1-2-2 Liberty League) took six shots to Union's two over the first 45 minutes, which featured even play and possession on both sides. Senior
Maya Koster made three saves in the opening half for Union to keep the game scoreless.
The Garnet Chargers came out aggressive in the second half, holding possession for a majority of the frame and keeping the Bombers on the defensive for almost the entirety of the half.
The home team finally broke through with 14:22 remaining in the second half, when first-year
Emily DeSousa sent a cross into the box and it was deflected by senior
Delaney McNinch toward the goal line, where Bancheri tapped it home for her second goal in as many games.
Union added some insurance with less than six minutes left, after a high kick by an Ithaca defender in the box resulted in an indirect free kick from just inside the penalty spot. Bancheri touched the ball to Sams, who slotted it through several onrushing defenders into the corner of the net for her third goal of the season.
Union finished the second half with an 8-0 edge in shots, ending the game with a 10-6 shot advantage, and also did not concede a corner kick over the 90 minutes while taking six.
Koster finished the match with three saves to earn her seventh shutout of the season, moving her into a tie for seventh place on the school single-season list and a tie for fifth all-time with 13 career shutouts.
Union will look to keep the momentum going on Wednesday, when the Garnet Chargers host Skidmore College for a 4 p.m. match at College Park Field.
