The Ithaca College field hockey program celebrated its 57th season in 2024. The Bombers have been to 18 NCAA Tournaments, including every year from 1990-98. Ithaca won the 1982 national championship. IC field hockey has posted an overall record of 557-375-21 for a .595 winning percentage.
Nancy Hicks led the Bombers to a 6-0 record in 1968, Ithaca’s first varsity season. A year later, Doris Kostrinsky began her 27-year coaching career. Kostrinsky, who was inducted into Ithaca College’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 1984, was recently selected for the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Hall of Fame.
The Bombers were undefeated in 1969 (6-0) and 1970 (7-0), and had a 23-game winning streak. From 1971-81, Ithaca won five New York State Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (NYSAIAW) titles, paced by scoring leaders Mary Ellen “Satch” Alger and Dee Dee Mayes and goalie Karen Patterson.
In 1979, competition outside the state became a playoff option, and the Bombers placed second in the Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) Division II regionals. The next season Ithaca finished third at the AIAW Division II tournament. Patti Klecha established school records for goals (29) and assists (16) in a season. The Bombers hosted the national tournament in 1981 and finished third.
In 1982, the NCAA became the sole governing body for women’s athletics, and Ithaca won the national championship, beating Trenton State, 2-1, on penalty strokes. The championship was Ithaca’s first in a women’s sport and third overall. Cathy Foto, Clare Lamont, Tracey Moyer and Diane Rapp were named to the NCAA all-tournament team.
The Bombers came within one goal of defending their crown in 1983, losing 2-1 to Trenton State in the finals at Ithaca. The team was led by standout goaltender Karen Howarth, a first-team all-American. The Bombers contended for another championship in 1984, losing in the NCAA semifinals, 1-0, to Messiah.
NCAA playoff invitations in 1985, 1986 and 1987 ran Ithaca’s streak to nine years in the national tournament. After consecutive losing seasons, Ithaca returned to the national tournament in 1990. The Bombers won the New York State Women’s Collegiate Athletic Association (NYSWCAA) crown, but were eliminated in the first round of the NCAA tournament by William Smith. In 1991 Ithaca was paced by all-Americans Sue Bender and Rachael Greener, who combined to score all three goals in a 3-1 win over Ohio Wesleyan in the NCAA playoffs. Ithaca was eliminated by Lock Haven, 2-1, in the regional final.
Bender and goalie Karen Hollands earned All-American honors in 1992, leading the team to another NCAA appearance. The Bombers avenged a regular-season loss to Oneonta with a 1-0 win in the regional semifinal before falling to eventual national champion William Smith, 2-1, in the regional finals. In 1993 the Bombers advanced to the regional finals once again before losing, 1-0, to Cortland, the eventual champion. Hollands earned first-team all-American honors in 1993.
Ithaca lost first-round NCAA playoff games in each of the next three years before beating Eastern Mennonite in the first round of the 1997 tournament. The following season the Bombers reached the NCAA playoffs for the ninth straight year, losing to Gettysburg in the regional semifinals.
The 1999 team competed in both the NYSWCAA and ECAC tournaments. In 2000, Ithaca was back in the NCAA playoffs, losing to Williams, 2-0, in the first round. Senior defender Becky Karver was a second-team All-America selection.
The 2001 team was again back in the postseason, competing in the state and ECAC playoffs. A year later Ithaca stretched its string of postseason appearances to 13 consecutive seasons, capping their trip to the NYSWCAA tournament with the program’s eighth state title.
Another milestone occurred in 2005, when Tasha Snowden became the first Bomber to be named Empire 8 Player of the Year.
Also in 2005, Foto was named to the NCAA Division III Field Hockey 25th Anniversary Team. A total of 16 players were named to the anniversary team. Foto is the only member of the squad who played field hockey in 1981, the first year of NCAA competition.
In 2007, the Empire 8 sponsored a conference championship tournament for the first time. Ithaca clinched a berth in the tournament after thrilling overtime wins over Stevens Institute of Technology and Elmira to close the regular season.
In 2015, the Bombers produced 13 victories and clinched home field for the Empire 8 Championship. The 13 wins were the most in a season since 1997. Ithaca advanced to the Empire 8 final for the first time in school history with a 2-0 win over Washington & Jefferson in the semifinals. Katie Lass was named Empire 8 Player of the Year, while Houk and Maureen Ordnung were named Coaching Staff of the Year. Three Bombers - Lass, Colleen Keegan-Twombley and Caitlin O'Brien - were named NFHCA All-Region at season's end. The team also earned NFHCA All-Academic distinction for obtaining a grade-point average over 3.0.
Long-time head coach Tracy Houk completed her 21st and final year at the helm of the Ithaca program in 2016. She helped the Bombers to an 8-7 record and 5-3 mark in Empire 8 play. She finished her career, which spanned from 1996-to-2016, with 179 career wins - second-most all-time. Kaitlyn Wahila, a former graduate-assistant under Houk, was named the program's fourth head coach in the Spring of 2017.
Wahila led the Bombers to a 7-10 record in her inaugural campaign in 2017, a solid showing considering the team's transition to a largely new staff and IC's jump to ultra-competitive Liberty League. Although the team posted a 1-6 mark in Liberty League action, the Bombers stayed competitive in every game against some of the nation's top competition, while they also posted a 5-4 record at home.
In her second season with the program, Wahila guided the Bombers to one of their most successful seasons in recent memory. The team posted a 13-7 overall record, which included a berth in the ECAC Division III Championships. IC went on to make a Semifinal Round appearance in that event. The program saw significant improvement from the year prior, nearly doubling its win total, and scoring two more victories in Liberty League play.
Wahila led the Bombers to a program first during the 2019 season, guiding IC to a 6-1 mark in Liberty League play to earn a trip to the Liberty League Tournament for the first time since becoming an affiliate in 2017. Ithaca finished with a 12-7 record on the year, marking the first time since 2000-02 that IC has logged back-to-back double-digit win seasons. Five players went on to earn All-Liberty League praise, while Wahila was tabbed as part of the Liberty League Co-Coaching Staff of the Year. Headlining the postseason accolades was sophomore transfer Morgan Mullen who became Ithaca's first NFHCA All-American dating back to the 2000 season.
During the 2021 season, Ithaca posted a 14-5 overall record and won the Liberty League regular season title, earning hosting rights for the postseason championship. The Bombers were receiving votes in the NFHCA Top 20 Poll for a majority of the year. Five players were named All-Liberty League, while three of those went on to be named NFHCA All-Region. The postseason accolades continued into December, as Jacqueline Mirabile was named a Third Team All-American to become the 29th All-American in program history.
The following year was another successful season for the Bombers, as IC went 14-4 with a 6-1 record in the Liberty League. The Bombers were one of the top defensive teams in the country in 2022 as well, allowing just 14 goals all year. Ithaca finished the season ranked fifth nationally in save percentage (.841) and eighth in goals-against average (0.74). Macy Brandwein played a major role in that success as she was fifth in save percentage and sixth in goals against average and would be named NFHCA Second-Team All-American.
Ithaca broke through in 2023 and returned to the NCAA Division III Championship for the first time since 2000. The Bombers would go 15-7 on the season and defeated Endicott, 3-2 in overtime, to secure the program's first NCAA win since 1997. IC matched the third-most wins in school history and were the No. 1 overall seed in the Liberty League Championship. Wahila and staff were named Liberty League Coaching Staff of the Year, while Bella McColliser was selected as the Defensive Player of the Year. McCollister would also be named an NFHCA All-American.
It was another historic season for IC in 2024 as the Bombers won their first-ever conference championship and went undefeated in Liberty League play. The Bombers posted an overall record of 15-6, which included a winning streak of nine straight games, before IC lost to Weseleyan in the NCAA Tournament, 2-0. Bella McCollister repeated as Liberty League Defensive Player of the Year and NFHCA Second Team All-American, while her and three other teammates - Natalie Descalso, Emma Garver and Meara Bury - were named NFHCA All-Region.
Ithaca’s Athletic Hall of Fame includes 21 field hockey players, two coaches and the 1982 national championship team: Mary Ellen Alger ’78 (inducted in 1986); Leslie Greene Block '98 (2008); Lynn Anne Bolton '96 (2017); Penny Curtis '77 (2006); Cathy Foto ’83 (1989); coach Andrea Golden (2015); Ellen Hawver '41 (1980); Karen Hollands ’94 (2000); Karen Howarth '86 (1997); Rebecca Karver '01 (2012); Mary Klecha ’83 (1989); Patti Klecha-Porter ’81 (1986); Kathleen Minich Parker '71 (2005); Tina Klecha-Reinprecht ’77 (1990); coach Doris Kostrinsky (1984), Mildred Piscopo ’87 (1993); Dee Dee Mayes Relph ’78 (1985); Margaret Pilling Rux '81 (2009); Sally Scatton ’75 (1997); Debbie Smith '90 (2006); Julie Stone Radnoff '93 (2018); Susan Bender Szymendera '93 (2009); and Barb Wachowiak ’85 (1991).
Update: 12/19/24
