ITHACA, N.Y. – The Ithaca College field hockey team kicked off a three-game homestand to conclude the 2017 campaign when it welcomed RPI for the two squads' Liberty League finale on a pristine fall Sunday at Higgins Stadium. Sadly, a late rally by the Engineers, capped by Olivia Jackson's overtime score lifted the visitors to a 2-1 triumph over the Bombers.
 
Although officially out of contention for postseason participation, IC still had much to play for entering Sunday's League finale. Wins in Ithaca's final three games would have ensured a third consecutive winning season for the program, a feat that has not been accomplished since the 2000-through-2002. Using that motivation, Ithaca turned in one of its best efforts of the year and certainly its best all-around game in the month of October. Unfortunately, a late rally by RPI and a hefty amount of misfortune sunk the Bombers to their sixth straight defeat in the 2-1 overtime loss.
 
Ithaca came out on the front foot with some significant offensive pressure. It was RPI's keeper Kayla Bell and a scrappy Engineer defense that was able to keep the visitors afloat early. Bell denied five IC shots in the first 10 minutes of play, as junior striker Maria McGloin and senior midfielder Amanda Schell each had two Grade-A scoring chances padded away by RPI's keeper.
 
It seemed as though the Bombers were snake-bit throughout the opening half, as they were unable to score even when they were able to get shots past Bell. Freshman Emily Contrelli and senior Michaela Donohue each had shots cleared off the line in the opening half. Contrelli's shot was deflected off the goal line by Lauren Hiltz, caroming off the outside of the right post and out of danger. Moments later, Donohue had a point-blank opportunity, which she chipped over Bell, but Mac Reininger was on the goal line to swat it away from danger.
 
IC also had two apparent goals waved off in the first 35 minutes of play. Junior back Kaylou Stoddard looked to have scored on a penalty corner opportunity, but the near-side referee whistled Ithaca for an infraction on impeding the goalie from making the save. Junior back Maddy Ryan also looked to have scored a goal in the first 35-minute, but it was deemed that she was just outside of the scoring arc when taking the shot, which whizzed past Bell and into the netting.
 
A second defensive save by Reininger on Donohue with less than 10 minutes remaining in the frame ensured that the teams would head to halftime scoreless. In total, the Bombers fired 13 shots with 11 going on target in the first half. On the defensive end, sophomore keeper Savanna Lenker was sharp despite facing intermittent pressure in the half. She made three clutch saves against the run of play to keep things deadlocked.
 
Although RPI began to find more attacking footing in the second half, it was Ithaca that broke the ice quickly once play resumed in the second half. Working on their third penalty corner of the frame just 4:30 into the second stanza, Schell connected for her third goal of the season. Sophomore Kendall Keil started the play from the end-line, sending in a perfect near-side insert to junior Kimmy Briscoe on the left side of the arc. Her pass towards the cage was stopped by McGloin in front, who deftly sent a pass back to Schell who was open in the slot. The senior whipped a low shot into the bottom left of the cage to make it 1-0 in favor of the home side with just over 30-minutes to play.
 
Now chasing the score, RPI battled back with some significant offensive pressure during the latter stages of the half. Lenker and Ithaca's rock solid defense did well to stymie several RPI threats; however, more misfortune struck the Bombers with just under 10-minutes to play. Lenker and RPI striker Mikaela DiBello converged on a loose ball in the scoring zone with just over eight minutes left, sending both players to the turf. Unfortunately, after remaining on the field for several minutes, Lenker had to be removed from the game, thrusting Ithaca's freshman goalkeeper Ariyahna Bernard into a difficult situation having to defend an immediate penalty corner opportunity on the restart.
 
RPI tied up the score on that chance, as Megan Jones inserted the ball to Mekayla Wakeman on the right side of the arc. The Engineers' senior defender rocketed a hard shot through traffic that deflected off Bernard's pad and just inside the right post to tie the score at 1-1.
 
The contest would go to overtime, where Ithaca's junior striker Meg Dowd was whistled for a yellow card, putting the Bombers shorthanded. RPI ended the game on a penalty corner, as Jackson redirected a point shot from Wakeman through Bernard's pads just under 10-minutes into the extra session.
 
Ithaca returns to action on Thursday, October 26, when it faces St. John Fisher in a non-league matchup at 5:00 p.m.