ITHACA, N.Y. -- The 28th-ranked Ithaca women's soccer team (11-2-3, 5-1-1 Empire 8) is seeded third for this weekend's Empire 8 Championship Tournament at top-seeded Stevens. The Bombers will play a semifinal match against second-seeded Nazareth (9-3-4, 5-0-2 Empire 8) Saturday at 2 p.m. A live video feed and live stats are available for the match, while additional information can be found at the tournament central website.

Stevens (13-3-3, 6-0-1) and fourth-seeded St. John Fisher (8-8-0, 4-3-0 Empire 8) will square off in Saturday's other semifinal at 11:30 a.m. The winners of the semifinal matches will play Sunday at 2:30 p.m.

The Bombers have won or shared seven of the past nine Empire 8 tournament titles and have made 21 appearances in the NCAA playoffs – more than any other program. Ithaca has reached the quarterfinals three of the last four NCAA playoff tournaments.

The Bombers have outscored opponents 46-16 this fall, tallying six shutouts.

Junior Rachael Palladino (Lansing/Lansing), who repeated as Empire 8 Offensive Player of the Year, ranks second all-time at Ithaca with 44 goals and 107 points. She recorded a team-best 12 goals, two of which were game-winners, and added seven assists for a team-leading 31 points. Sophomore Anna Gray (Delmar/Bethlehem) anchored the Bombers' defense and was named Empire 8 Defensive Player of the Year. Gray recorded three scores during the season.

Junior Julie Winn (Sutton/Sutton, Mass.), a first-team selection, enters postseason play with eight goals and a Bomber-best eight assists for 24 points. Sophomores Amanda Callanan (Ballston Spa/Ballston Spa) and Ellyn Grant-Keane (Lansing/Lansing), both earning second-team nods, have seven and six goals, respectively, and two assists each. Senior Marla Schilling (Canton/Canton, Conn.) and sophomore Meredith Jones (Gwynedd Mercy Academy/Lower Gwynedd, Pa.) were each recognized by the conference for their defensive efforts.

Junior Becca Salant (Holliston/Holliston, Mass.) has garnered an 11-2-3 record in goal, claiming four complete shutouts for Ithaca. She has made 96 saves to rank second in the league and averages 6.0 saves per contest.

Nazareth, who is knotted with Ithaca in the NSCAA East Region poll at fourth, is seeking its ninth E8 title and first since 2006. The Golden Flyers held opponents scoreless for more than 700 minutes until #2 William Smith snapped their streak defeating Nazareth, 1-0, on Oct. 26. The Bombers played to a 0-0 stalemate with Nazareth on Oct. 22 as they did in the 2009 regular season also.