ALFRED, NY - The Alfred University football team continued their season with a 45-14 loss to Ithaca College on Saturday from Yunevich Stadium. 

Chris Kelly (Lake Ronkonkoma, NY/Sachem North) finished the game with 172 passing yards and a touchdown. Carmine Hoag (Salamanca, NY/Salamanca) recorded 82 receiving yards and a touchdown across eight receptions, while adding a rushing touchdown. Thomas Welch (Avon, NY/Avon) led the AU defense with 10 tackles, one of which was a sack. 

"Obviously, today's performance was not the outcome that we wanted or expected," Head Coach Bob Rankl said. "Ithaca has a very good football team and they played much better than we did today. While the loss was extremely disappointing, the only thing that we can do right now is focus on winning next week at St. Lawrence. I love our team, I love our leadership, and I have no doubt that we will be ready to bounce back."

Following 10 opening points by Ithaca (1-1, 0-0 Liberty League), AU (1-1, 0-0 Empire 8) relied on a seven-yard touchdown pass from Kelly to Hoag to cut into their deficit. The Bombers answered with 14 more points in the second quarter before taking a 24-7 lead into halftime. The next score from Alfred University came in the fourth quarter with Caleb Eastman (Colonie, NY/Colonie Central) under center, handing the ball off to Hoag for a two-yard touchdown. Ithaca was able to add 21 points across the second half to distance their advantage and come away with the non-conference win. 

Alfred University will next compete on the road at St. Lawrence next Saturday at 1:00 PM.