ITHACA, N.Y. – The Ithaca College field hockey team made its return to Higgins Stadium on Wednesday evening when it played host to another former in-conference foe in Elmira College. The Bombers blitzed the Soaring Eagles with a fast start and did not wilt despite near-record temperatures for the late September date, flying past the visitors for a 5-0 win. The victory is Ithaca's first shutout of the season, while it improves IC's record to 5-3 on the year and 3-0 in home contests.
 
Ithaca did not wait long to establish a foot-hold in the Elmira zone, which it quickly translated into an early 2-0 advantage. The Bombers scored twice within a span of 58-seconds capitalizing on some swift stick-work from junior Meg Dowd and senior Michaela Donohue. It was Dowd's second scoring strike of the season, while Donohue's first-half score was her team-leading seventh of the year.
 
IC's opening score came just 1:33 into the game, as Dowd kept up her hot stick from this past weekend with her second goal in as many games. With Donohue charging down the right flank, she made a cut to the center of the field and whipped a sneaky shot towards the Elmira cage. The Soaring Eagles keeper, Julie Hockenberger, did well to stop the shot, but the rebound trickled through the legs of the Elmira keeper. Dowd was in perfect position at the right post, springing on the opportunity to push the ball over the goal-line to give the Bombers lift-off.
 
The duo teamed up again less than a minute later. This time it was Dowd that created the play from the right side of the attacking zone. The junior won the race to the end-line, beating her defensive marker, before making a stick-to-stick pass to Donohue. IC's leading scorer received the pass with a soft stick and in one motion quickly turned before whipping a perfectly-placed shot into the left corner of the cage. The goal made the score 2-0 just 2:31 into the game.
 
The Bombers maintained the territorial advantage throughout the remainder of the half. Ithaca finished the first 35-minutes with an 18-to-3 advantage in shot attempts, which included an 11-to-1 mark in shots on goal. IC also held a 5-to-3 edge in penalty corner opportunities, which the squad used in textbook fashion to add to its lead before the halftime horn.
 
Dowd registered her fourth point of the half in the 27^th-minute, working as the insert on a penalty corner. She whipped in a great pass that rolled true across the turf to junior midfielder Maddy Ryan, who was parked at the top of the attacking arc. The third-year took one stick handle to settle the ball and fired a rocket shot through traffic in front and again clanged inside the left post. It was Ryan's first goal of the year and just the second of her IC career. Ithaca took the 3-0 lead to the break.
 
While the start of the game had a similar feel to this past Saturday, where Ithaca held a dominant territorial advantage in the opening half, the team made it a point to finish off the strong start to not let Elmira claw back into the contest. IC racked up 11 more shots on goal in the second half, scoring twice to cap the 5-0 win. The Bombers would finish with a 32-to-5 advantage in shot attempts and a 22-to-1 edge in shots on goal.
 
The Bombers fourth scoring tally came in the 47^th-minute of play. It was Ryan, fresh off her opening half goal, that created the scoring play. Intercepting a pass near midfield, she carried possession down the right flank and ripped a hard pass across the face of goal from outside the attacking arc. Freshman striker Maya Rodgers was the beneficiary of the excellent struck ball, as the rookie made a veteran-like run towards the left post to arrive at the perfect time for the tap-in score. She one-timed the ball into the back of the cage to score her first collegiate goal.
 
Donohue capped the scoring in the 64^th-minute with her second goal of the game. Sophomore Kendall Keil found the senior with an excellent pass, which Donohue lofted into the cage to make it 5-0. It was the senior's third multi-goal effort of the year.
 
With the game well in-hand, the only thing left to decide was whether Ithaca was going to be able to make it the team's first shutout of the season. Strong defense and timely goalie play by sophomore Savanna Lenker down the stretch ensured that it would be a clean sheet on this day.
 
Elmira's best chance came with just a few minutes remaining, as freshman Janie Kempf was able to work free from her midfield marker, charging quickly down the left side of the attacking zone. Elmira's shot leader, with all five of the Soaring Eagles' attempts to that point in the game, was stymied on an excellent one-on-one play by junior back Kimmy Briscoe. The third-year calmly stole away possession and cleared the ball out of harm's way.
 
Lenker had some late handy-work as well. Using her pads to deny a potential chance from Elmira's Atu Machika in close, she was able to shield the ball to her defender, effectively eliminating the EC threat. Lenker finished with one save in all 70-minutes of work to score her first career shutout and improve her record to 5-3 on the year.
 
Ithaca returns to action this weekend when it plays host to St. Lawrence in the team's first-ever Liberty League home game. Action at Higgins Stadium will begin at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, September 30.