ITHACA, N.Y. – The Ithaca College field hockey team made it two wins in as many home games on Tuesday afternoon, completing its abbreviated homestand in style with a 4-1 victory over SUNY Oneonta at Higgins Stadium. With the victory, the Bombers elevated their record back to .500 at 2-2 on the year.
 
Senior forward, Lauren Delia, had a big afternoon, scoring her first two goals of the year. Sophomore, Maddy Ryan, also added her first goal of the year, while senior, Colleen Keegan-Twombly, continued to wield a red-hot stick with a goal and two assists. Junior, Michaela Donohue, added two helpers, as the Bombers scored three goals after halftime to pull away from the visiting Red Dragons.
 
"It was great to see the team pick up where they left off on Saturday in terms of the offense," head coach Tracey Houk said. "Anytime you score four goals, you give yourself a great chance to win and I thought today's goals were really well executed."
 
It did not take long for the Bombers to get on the front foot, as Ithaca jumped out to an early 1-0 lead just 5:07 into the game. The play started when Donohue picked off a pass on the periphery of the offensive third and quickly spurred a transition rush the other way. She sent an area pass, which Keegan-Twombly ran onto to create a two-on-one break on goal. The senior forward drew Oneonta's defender and goalkeeper to her, before laying off a perfect pass to Delia, who was crashing the left post. The senior striker tapped home the shot into the netting to lift Ithaca into the lead.
 
"We are continuing to get offense from many different sources," Houk continued. "It is great to see different players getting in on the scoresheet and speaks to the level of depth we have on the team this season."
 
Both teams saw stretches of attacking pressure during the remainder of the first half, but the defense and goalkeepers of each side ensured that the first half would have no further scoring. The Red Dragons particularly enjoyed a favorable spell just minutes after Ithaca took the lead. The visitors drew three penalty corners over a 2:43 span, but the IC defense and goalkeeper, Katie Lass, repelled the Oneonta response to maintain the slim lead. Lass went on to finish with three saves in the half.
 
Following a similar script to Saturday's victory over Utica, Ithaca scored a significant goal shortly after the resumption of play to begin the second half. Once again, it was Delia on the receiving end of a great pass, with the senior scoring to mark the fourth two-goal game of her Ithaca career.
 
It was Donohue that made the play happen, doing an excellent job of maintaining possession down near the end line to the right of the cage. She shielded the defender and whipped a pass in front of the cage, which eluded a maze of sticks, before finding its way onto the blade of Delia. The LaGrangeville, N.Y., product pumped it into the cage to make the score 2-0.
 
Things got interesting as the half continued, as Oneonta pulled within a goal during the 50^th minute of play. Attacking down the left wing, Oneonta's Allyson Wells corralled a loose ball from seven-yards out and fired a shot towards the right post. Kiley Lamoreaux redirected the shot on its way in, with it sneaking just inside the post to halve the deficit.
 
The Red Dragons pressured over the ensuing five minutes in an effort to pull level with the Bombers, but the IC defense and Lass held firm. The Ithaca keeper finished with seven saves in the game.
 
The Bombers gained some breathing room in the 61^st minute when Ryan scored the first goal of her collegiate career. Holding possession in the right side of the striking arc, Keegan-Twombly was able to muscle free of an onrushing defender and slipped a sneaky pass to Ryan who was camped out in a central position near the goal line. She used a quick stick to swat the ball home, before Red Dragon keeper, Cassandra Miller, could put her boot to it in a clearing attempt.
 
Keegan-Twombly iced the game for Ithaca 4:40 later. Again using the right side of the arc on a penalty corner set play. Amanda Schell ripped a hard shot, which Miller parried away with the blocker. The rebound fell to the stick of Donohue, who bumped a quick pass to Keegan-Twombly. The senior swatted the feed into the cage to up the lead to 4-1.
 
"Getting the two wins at home is great and was exactly what we set out to do coming into the homestand," head coach Tracey Houk said. "It certainly helps us bring some momentum into a big Empire 8 matchup at Stevens this weekend."
 
The Bombers return to action on Saturday, September 17, as they travel to Hoboken, N.J., to face Stevens Institute of Technology in an early season matchup of two Empire 8 postseason contenders. Ithaca will look to avenge last year's defeat to the Ducks in the conference championships game.
 
"We are definitely motivated to face Stevens," Houk concluded. "We enjoyed today's win, but once we huddled up at the end I think the team's focus immediately switched to this weekend. Many of our players are from the tri-state area and we always have a lot of traveling support when we go down there. It certainly will be a challenging matchup, but I think the team is ready for it."