ITHACA, N.Y. – The Ithaca College field hockey team put the wraps on its 2017 season on Saturday afternoon when it played host to Brockport at a blustery Higgins Stadium. The Bombers finished off the year on a high-note, exploding for six goals to soar past the Golden Eagles on Senior Day. The win improved IC's final record to 7-10.
 
Offense has been at a premium for Ithaca during the month of October, as IC has struggled to find the back of the cage down the back stretch of its difficult schedule. The Bombers flipped the script on Saturday, turning in an inspired effort, which saw the team race out to a 5-0 lead at the half en route to the lopsided win.
 
Junior striker Meg Dowd scored her first career hat trick to pace the IC attack, while junior striker Maria McGloin potted two goals on the day. Ithaca's final tally was fittingly banked by senior striker Michaela Donohue on a penalty stroke. It was the first time an IC player has netted a hat trick since Colleen Keegan-Twombly scored three against Wells during the 2015 season. Donohue and senior midfielder Amanda Schell, as well as four-year team manager Kelsey Sharer were all honored in a pre-game ceremony prior to the beginning of action.
 
Freshman goalkeeper Maddie Guerrier scored the victory in her first-ever collegiate start. She played the entire 70 minutes, finishing with three excellent saves.
 
The tone was set right off the opening whistle, as Ithaca struck for two goals before most fans had even settled into their seats. McGloin got the party started 1:21 into the game when she knocked in her first of two goals on the afternoon to give IC the early 1-0 lead. The sequence was all started by IC's senior Schell, who made an excellent run down the left flank and fired a shot that was padded away by the blocker of Brockport keeper Sarah Beam. The rebound was quickly corralled by Dowd at the right post and she whipped a backhand pass across the face of goal that McGloin steered in at the left post.
 
The lead was doubled just 27-seconds later when Dowd finished off a goal of her own. This time it was McGloin that started the play, launching a pass to Dowd in the left side of the attacking third of the field. Although the pass did not initially connect, hitting the on-coming Brockport defender's foot, Dowd scooped up possession as the referee allowed advantage. She moved into the zone and fired a shot into the right corner to make it 2-0 not even two minutes into the game.
 
The scoring barrage continued in the 10^th-minute of play when Dowd whipped home her second of what would be three first-half tallies. Working with possession off of a penalty corner, one of six such opportunities in the opening half, sophomore striker Brooke Novello labeled a pass stick-to-stick to Dowd who tapped it in at the right post.
 
Dowd notched her hat trick just under eight minutes later when she finished off her own rebound to make the score 4-0. Ithaca's fifth goal was deposited on a penalty stroke 25:13 into the game. Junior Maddy Ryan earned the opportunity when her shot was stopped on the goal line; however, the ref deemed that Brockport fouled Ryan on a goal-scoring opportunity. The Bombers sent their leading goal-scorer Donohue to the spot to take the try, which she easily deposited with a top-shelf shot into the upper right netting. The tally was her 10^th of the season, extending her career high for a single season.
 
Brockport responded with an initial burst out of the gates to begin the second half of play. The Golden Eagles were able to get two shots behind Guerrier in the first 6:22 of the second session to carve into the significant lead. However, IC's goalie and stern defense held Brockport to just five more shot attempts throughout the rest of the contest.
 
IC capped its own scoring with 13:25 left to play when McGloin fired home her second of the afternoon. It was an excellent effort by the third-year player, as her initial deflection off a Kendall Keil shot was denied, but she stuck with the rebound and powered it over the goal line to make the score 6-2.
 
Guerrier came up with three strong saves in the final minutes of the game to ensure that the score line remained the same. The Bombers finished with a 39-to-10 advantage in shot attempts, which included a 24-to-5 edge in shots on target. IC also finished with a 12-to-6 lead in penalty corner opportunities.