GENEVA, N.Y. – The Ithaca College field hockey team took on its toughest test of the season on Saturday afternoon, as the Bombers traveled to Geneva, N.Y., to face 13^th-ranked William Smith in a late-season non-conference tilt. Although IC was able to score a pair of late goals, the Herons proved to be too much, downing Ithaca 6-2 at McCooey Field.
 
It was the first half that made the difference for William Smith, as the nationally-ranked Herons were able to best the Ithaca defense for four goals in the first 35 minutes. IC hung tough during the opening minutes, but it was William Smith that was able to break the ice in the ninth minute of play. Leading scorer, Hannah Wood, executed a give-and-go with Alexandra Frary on a penalty corner, with the former depositing a shot past Ithaca keeper, Katie Lass, to give the Herons a 1-0 advantage.
 
The home side widened the gap over a 1:02 stretch just over five minutes later. Katie Meyer doubled the William Smith lead with her second goal of the season, while Fallon Adair whipped home her fourth of the year just 1:02 later. The scoring burst gave the Herons a 3-0 lead in the first 15 minutes. Wood added a second of the half in the 22^nd minute to cap the first half scoring.
 
Lass did her best to keep IC within striking distance, making 10 saves in the first half, but the four-goal barrage made a difficult gap for Ithaca to bridge.
 
Maura Moran and Frary added to the William Smith lead with goals in the 40^th and 55^th minute, respectively.


Despite the deficit, Ithaca did not back down over the final stretch of the contest. The Bombers controlled play over the final 10 minutes, scoring a pair of goals against one of the nation's top defenses.
 
Senior, Cassie Schuttrumpf, broke the ice for IC in the 60^th minute. Stickhandling into some space on the right side of the arc, Schuttrumpf let fly one of her classic howitzer shots to score her third goal of the year.
 
Fellow senior, Colleen Keegan-Twombly, added to her team goal-scoring lead 3:19 later when she netted her ninth of the year to make it 6-2. Junior, Amanda Schell, picked up the primary assist, as it was her shot that Keegan-Twombly redirected from four yards out.
 
Lass finished with 19 saves in the game. Sophomore, Maddie Keppel, added a defensive save for the Bombers.
 
Ithaca returns to action on Saturday, October 15, as it travels to Oneonta, N.Y., for a contest ripe with postseason implications against Hartwick College. Start time against the Hawks is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.