ITHACA, N.Y. (November 7, 2009) - Sophomore goalkeeper Kaitlin McClymont made a career-high 17 saves, but the fourth-seeded Stevens Institute of Technology women's soccer team fell to Empire 8 tournament host Ithaca College, 1-0, at Carp Wood Field in Ithaca, N.Y. This marks the second-straight season in which the Bombers have downed the Ducks in the tournament semifinals. Stevens concludes its 2009 season with a 6-12 overall record, while nationally ranked No. 22 Ithaca moves to 13-4-1 on the year.
Ithaca, which held a decisive 37-2 shot advantage, applied much of the pressure early, outshooting the Ducks, 5-1 over the first five minutes of action. McClymont recorded her first save of the say in the 12th minute on a shot off the foot of senior Emily Mogk (Bozeman, Mont.) before tallying five saves on 11 Bomber shots over the next 20 minutes of play.
Senior Amy Scheffer (Schalmont, N.Y.) nearly put Ithaca ahead in the 37th minute when she sent a try off the Stevens' crossbar. Undaunted, the persistent Bombers would pepper the Ducks' net with five more shots before the end of the first half, but McClymont would make a pair of saves to close out the first frame and preserve the scoreless tie.
Ithaca once again came out firing to start the second, registering seven shots over the first 10 minutes of the stanza, but McClymont was up to the challenge, recording six saves during the stretch, culminating on a diving save on an eight-yard shot by Scheffer.
Mogk narrowly missed putting Ithaca ahead when she sent a second shot off the crossbar in the 60th minute, but the Bombers persistence finally paid off at the 77:19 mark when Lauren Koppel (Rockville Center, N.Y.) headed a Julie Winn (Sutton, Mass.) corner-kick into the Stevens net.
McClymont would make two more saves down the stretch to keep the Ducks within striking distance, but the top-seeded Bombers held on to advance to the Empire 8 women's soccer championship match.
Sophomore forward Kathleen Schuckers recorded the Ducks' only shot on net, while junior Mary Chew registered Stevens' only other try.
