ITHACA, N.Y. – The Ithaca College field hockey team returned home for their first contest in nearly a month when it welcomed red-hot Susquehanna University to Higgins Stadium on Tuesday afternoon. The River Hawks spoiled IC's long-awaited homecoming, dealing the Bombers their first defeat at home this season in a back-and-forth 5-3 final.
 
While Ithaca has been so strong during the second half of contests over the course of the year, it was visiting Susquehanna that scored the clutch goals down the stretch on the way to victory. The River Hawks used a four-goal barrage after halftime to gain separation from an IC side that was eager to protect its perfect record on home turf this season.
 
While IC has seen stretches where it has struggled to score during the opening half of games this season, the Bombers came out flying in the opening minutes of the game. Senior scoring leader, Colleen Keegan-Twombly, lifted Ithaca into the lead just 8:25 into the contest. Corralling a brilliant centering pass from junior, Amanda Schell, Keegan-Twombly ripped a wicked backhander past Susquehanna keeper, Emily DiGaetano, to put the Bombers up 1-0.
 
The advantage lasted for just over 10 minutes, as Emily Novakovich equalized for the visitors off of a penalty corner insert from Mini Kifolo. While both sides generating chances during the rest of the opening half, the teams remained deadlocked at 1-1 heading into the intermission.
 
The fireworks did not take long to begin during the second session, as Susquehanna pulled in front just 4:09 after the restart. Novakovich tallied her second of the afternoon on deft play, controlling a deflected ball off of the stick of Taylor Franco, before depositing a perfectly placed shot just out of the reach of the leg of Ithaca keeper, Katie Lass, and just inside the left post.
 
The Bombers responded just 1:16 later with an equalizer of the their own to again level the contest. Sophomore, Maria McGloin, started the play with an excellent area pass to junior, Michaela Donohue, who was sprinting down the right flank of the River Hawk defense. She caught up the pass and made a bee-line to the cage. Upon meeting resistance about eight yards from the cage, she surprised DiGaetano with a sharp angle shot that found its way through the legs of an on-rushing defender and the Susquehanna keeper, before nestling into the bottom left corner of the cage.
 
It appeared that Lass might be the difference down the stretch of the contest. She denied Franco on a pair of point-blank chances six minutes after the Donohue equalizer, but the Susquehanna offense proved to be too much down the stretch.
 
The River Hawks grabbed control of the contest with 20 minutes left to play, scoring two goals in the span of 1:21 to take a 4-2 lead. Franco scored the first, corralling her own rebound of an initial save by Lass and getting just enough on the ball to have it creep over the goal line. The second goal came on a fast break, as Jordan Burkepile ripped a one-timer off a rebound from yet-another Lass stop of Franco.
 
Ithaca closed within one goal with 6:24 left to play when senior, Cassie Schuttrumpf, scored from the penalty spot. Using no run-up, she fired a wrist shot into the right side twine past the sprawling DiGaetano make it 4-3.
 
Unfortunately, Susquehanna iced the game exactly two minutes later when leading-scorer Hunter Pitman deposited another goal off of a rebound.
 
Keegan-Twombly and Schuttrumpf both extended their scoring streaks to three consecutive games in the defeat. Lass finished with 12 saves for the Bombers.
 
Ithaca is back in action on Saturday, October 22, when it plays host to Washington & Jefferson in a crucial Empire 8 Conference matchup at Higgins Stadium. The Bombers need to defeat the Presidents to remain alive for postseason contention. IC will honor the six members of its senior class in a pre-game ceremony beginning at 11:40 a.m.