ITHACA, N.Y. – Junior Gabriella Mihale netted the game winner with just 11 seconds left in regulation to push the Ithaca College women's soccer team past RPI, 2-1, on Saturday afternoon.
 
Sophomore Alex Epifani sent up a pass to Mihale, who slipped past her defender and put the ball in, past a diving Joey Lyons in goal.
 
Mihale now has five goals on the season while Epifani has a team-high seven assists, which is also tops in the Liberty League.
 
The win bumps Ithaca to 12-1-2 overall with a 6-1-0 Liberty League record, which locks up a spot in the Liberty League Tournament. The Bombers currently sit in second place with 18 points, behind William Smith with 21 points.
 
It was Ithaca that struck first in the game, scoring just 13:50 in. Epifani scored her team-leading seventh goal of the season after controlling the ball into the box and firing off a high shot over Lyons' head.
 
The Engineers made an offensive push in the following minutes, testing Emma Fruhling in goal twice. Fruhling came up with the saves on both Emily Kaplan and Michelle Lomoz's shots.
 
RPI finally converted for a goal at the 25:11 mark. Following Fruhling's save on Lomoz's shot, the ball was deflected in front of the goal, where Kaplan was there to finish things off, tying the game, 1-1.
 
The Bombers had several promising chances to take a lead through the remainder of the first half, starting with a Mihale shot in the 37^th minute, which was saved by Lyons.
 
Christina DiCesare tested Lyons again three minutes later, but the goalkeeper once again came up with the save.
 
In the final minute of the first half, IC put together one more play in attempt to score. Following her corner kick, Sam Robinson came in to rip a shot to goal, but Lyons stopped it, sending things into halftime tied, 1-1.
 
Coming out of the break, the Bombers continued to work on the offensive end, netting four shots in the first 11 minutes. The Bombers forced Lyons to make three saves in a row on Reid Garner, Epifani and Elise Leavitt shots.
 
In the 57^th minute, the Engineers' Whitney Wisnom put a shot on goal, but Fruhling was there to make the save.
 
The Bombers' best chance in the second half, prior to the game-winner, was in the 66^th minute when Mihale sent a header in, which nearly found the back of the net, but Lyons was able to gain control of it to stop the play.
 
RPI registered just one more shot, in the 82^nd minute, but Fruling was there to make the stop on Wisnom's ball.
 
In the final three minutes of the game, the Bombers continued to push offensively. Robinson got off a shot in the 88^th minute, before Megan O'Reilly and Epifani put shots on goal in the final minute of play. All three shots were stopped by Lyons, but the Bombers were able to convert on Mihale's shot with 11 seconds left.
 
Statistically, the Bombers outshot RPI 15-11 while registering four corner kicks to the Engineer's one.
 
Fruhiling made seven saves in the net to earn her first win of her career at IC. Lyons made 10 saves for the Engineers.
 
Ithaca is back in action on Wednesday as the Bombers travel to RIT for a 3:30 p.m. contest. IC rounds out the regular-season next Saturday with a 2 p.m. match at Vassar. The Liberty League Tournament will start on Tuesday, October 30 while the semifinals and final will be on Saturday and Sunday, November 3-4 at the top seed.