ITHACA, N.Y. – Senior striker Michaela Donohue tallied a goal in each half, as the Ithaca College field hockey team stayed hot with a  3-1 victory over Hartwick College at Higgins Stadium on Wednesday afternoon. The win upped the Bombers' record to 3-2 on the season, while it improved the team's record to 2-0 at home this season.
 
Junior striker Maria McGloin added a penalty-stroke goal in the second half to ice the game for the Bombers. Junior midfielder MaryKate Siegel and junior back Maddie Keppel picked up assists on the first two IC scores to round out the point-scoring for Ithaca.
 
Sophomore goalkeeper Savanna Lenker pushed her record above .500 for the first time this season, moving to 3-2 on the year after logging all 70 minutes in the Ithaca cage. She finished the day with six saves, allowing the lone Hartwick goal on a first-half penalty stroke. Junior back Shelby McDavid added a defensive save for IC in the contest.
 
"I am happy with our team's ability to score first and work to manage the last 10 minutes of the game," first-year head coach Kaitlyn Wahila said. "Maria McGloin stepped up to take the penalty stroke called in the second half to allow us to go up 3-1, she executed her stroke under pressure. Savanna Lenker had another strong performance in the cage with six saves."
 
Playing its second game of the homestand, Ithaca got off to a lightning quick start in the contest, striking in the opening three minutes of the contest to snatch an early 1-0 advantage. Getting the start for first time this season, Siegel rewarded Wahila's confidence with an excellent play to give IC liftoff in the game. Stealing possession with a strong defensive step up at midfield, she sprung a counterattack with a perfectly threaded stretch pass to Donohue, who gained a step on her marking defender just over the attacking 25-yard mark. The senior carried possession to goal, before steadily measuring her shot and whipping a laser off the right post and into the cage just 2:36 into play.
 
Unfortunately, the lead lasted just 3:32 as Hartwick asserted itself with a strong answer during the ensuing 20-minutes of play following the Donohue tally. The Bombers have shown a vulnerability on penalty corners during the early season and again got burned as the Hawks equalized in the seventh minute of play. The Hawks created three penalty corner opportunities immediately following the ice-breaking goal. Although Lenker made a strong save on a Brooke Singer screamer and McDavid did well to make a defensive save on another Singer shot moments later, the Bombers were whistled for a foul on a clear goal-scoring opportunity to give the Hawks a penalty-stroke attempt.
 
Hartwick brought Lex Richards off the bench to take the attempt, which she buried off the right post and into the cage. The score gave the visitors momentum which they translated into strong territorial play over the middle sequence of the half.
 
At one point Hartwick had a 5-to-0 advantage in penalty corners, but the Bombers turned things around over the final 15 minutes of the opening half of play. While the Bombers did not translate the territorial advantage into a go-ahead goal before halftime, it clearly shifted momentum in the home team's favor heading into the second session.
 
Much like the first half, Ithaca did not wait long to get on the scoreboard when play resumed. IC's threatening penalty corner play ultimately cashed-in during the 40^th-minute when Donohue notched her second goal of the contest. Keppel played a big hand in the play, inserting the ball, which later came back to her at the left post when Amanda Schell fired a shot into traffic that deflected off a pair of sticks in front. Keppel made an adept play to quickly locate the ball and turn her stick to the backhand to keep it from going over the endline, whipping a pass across the face of the cage, which Donohue steered home at the right post.

It was Donohue's fourth consecutive game with a goal, equaling her career-best streak. It also was just the fifth time in her career and second time already in this young season that she has scored multiple goals in a game.
 
Hartwick was denied on a strong scoring chance just over five minutes following Donohue's go-ahead score. Singer fired one of her team-high four shots on goal, but Lenker flashed the right pad to deny the rocket and maintain the lead.
 
Ithaca added on with a big insurance goal with just under 20-minutes remaining. It was the Bombers' penalty corner that again ultimately created the chance. It looked as though freshman Kristen Rafferty was destined for her first collegiate goal, but her shot was stopped by Hartwick back Maggie Stauble. A subsequent foul on the scramble gave Ithaca a penalty-stroke opportunity, which McGloin cashed in with a rising shot into the upper-left corner of the cage to up the margin to 3-1.
 
The lead was more than enough for Lenker to see out in the final minutes, as she made one save over the final stretch.
 
"We will continue to work on specific pieces of our game to improve one day at a time as we head into an away contest against Nazareth this weekend," Wahila concluded.
 
Ithaca returns to action on Saturday, September 16, when it continues its run through Empire 8 competition with a contest at Nazareth College. Start time in Rochester, N.Y., is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.