Geneseo men’s Soccer falls to Ithaca

Photo courtesy of GeneseoKnights

After a hard-fought battle on the road, the SUNY Geneseo men’s soccer team fell 1-0 to Ithaca on Saturday afternoon, despite a standout performance in goal from sophomore Max Crothall.

On Sept. 6, 2025, the Geneseo men's soccer team faced a disappointing loss to the Ithaca Bombers at Carp Wood Field in Ithaca, New York. This game was the first match-up between the two teams in nine years. Having not faced each other since 2014, the Knights still had a hard-fought game. 

Throughout the first half, the teams stayed tied and scoreless. The pressure was on Geneseo early in the game, with Ithaca taking a total of seven shots on goal; fortunately, the Knights had Max Crothall in net. In the starting lineup as a sophomore, Crothall played an incredibly strong first half in goal, starting off the game with a save off a header; the net remained untouched for the rest of the first half. 

Due to a strong defensive line and Crothall's outstanding performance, the Knights were able to keep the score tied and eventually put pressure on the Bombers late in the first half. There were only three shots taken by the Geneseo Knights in the first half, but as they got into their rhythm, there was a quick shift in power as Geneseo began to force their way towards Ithaca's net. 

While they were unable to score as the minutes counted down in the first half, Aiden Lodie and Dylan Thody opened the second half by placing amazing shots on goal. The teams remained at a stalemate, with neither team seemingly able to score. Crothall kept his composure while the tensions began to rise as the clock counted down the minutes remaining in the second half. 

At the 69-minute mark, Crothall made an incredible diving save, fending off a shot taken by Ithaca’s Jared Krasnove. With Ithaca acquiring foul after foul throughout the game, amounting to a total of 17 fouls, LJ Melucci was given a yellow card only 30 seconds after Crothall’s save.

As time ticked down, Aiden Lodie powered through and placed another shot on goal, but to no avail. A tie between the two teams seemed inevitable, but in the last five minutes of the game, Ithaca's Ryan Levy managed to puncture a hole in Geneseo's strong defense. The Bombers finally scored a goal to break the game-long standoff. 

With just too little time, Geneseo had no chance of bringing the game back for a win or even a tie. Despite the disappointing end, we saw a hard-fought game and an excellent performance from  Geneseo's goalkeeper, Max Crothall. Recording seven saves during the game, totaling 23 this season as only a sophomore, his performance was undoubtedly one of the biggest highlights in the game. 

We also saw some fantastic shots from the front line; from Aiden Lodie, to Dylan Thody, and Michael Ruggiero, there was an exemplary amount of pressure put on Ithaca at multiple points in the game. The loss against Ithaca places SUNY Geneseo men's soccer at 1-3-0 overall for the season. 

On Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025, the Knights will have their first home game of the season against Alleghany College. Come show your support for your men's soccer team at 4:00pm at the stadium for what looks to be an exciting home opener!