Of the seven schools in the Mid-State Athletic Conference, only two fielded men's soccer teams this season. On Tuesday, Tompkins Cortland Community College hosted the only other MSAC team, Cayuga Community College. A tight game early ended with the visiting Spartans handing the Panthers a 3-0 defeat. Tompkins Cortland is now 0-4-1 on the season. Cayuga ends its season with a record of 4-2.

The game was nearly 20 minutes old when the first good scoring chance came. Terry Paw (Ithaca/Ithaca H.S.) stole the ball in the offensive end and appeared to have an opportunity with the Cayuga keeper out of position, but a Cayuga defender made a heads-up play, hustling into position to make a header save and keep the Panthers off the scoreboard.

The second good chance was also for the Panthers, and actually produced a goal by Dan Cowulich (Berkshire/Newark Valley H.S.), only to have it wiped off on a disputed offside call. That call came with just under seven minutes left in the half, and less than five minutes later, Cayuga broke through with the game's first score. The Spartans took the momentum into the halftime, and added to the lead ten minutes into the second half. Cayuga added an insurance goal midway through the second half, and as the Panthers tried without success to get the ball into the net, the game ended 3-0.

Looking ahead

The final game of the season is Friday, May 14. The Panthers host Monroe Community College at 4 p.m.