ITHACA, N.Y. – The Ithaca College field hockey team had a simple equation facing it when it returned to Higgins Stadium on Sunday afternoon for the final game of the team's Liberty League schedule against Skidmore. A victory over the Thoroughbreds would clinch a berth to the league's postseason tournament, while defeat would drop IC out of the Top-4 in the standings and the chance to compete for a league championship and NCAA Tournament berth. Sadly, the win did not materialize for Ithaca on Sunday, as Skidmore shut down IC's offense and capitalized on a quick-strike goal in the second half of play to escape South Hill with a 1-0 result. The loss drops IC's record to 10-6 on the year, while the Bombers finish the Liberty League slate with a record of 3-4, a two-win improvement from a season ago.
 
Sunday's contest with rife with emotional significance. Not only did the matchup feature two teams battling each other for a chance at the postseason, but it also marked a special day for eight senior members of Ithaca's program, who were set to play their final weekend contest at Higgins Stadium. The 2018 Field Hockey Senior Class has truly led a resurgence of the field hockey program since arriving on campus in 2015. The group, comprised of: Kimmy Briscoe, Meg Dowd, Maddie Keppel, Shelby McDavid, Maria McGloin, Maddy Ryan, Kaylou Stoddard, and Emily Vallee, hoped to add another mark on its list of achievements with a big victory on Sunday. Although winter-like conditions settled into the Finger Lakes Region over the past couple days, the cold weather did little to quell the energy when play got underway on Sunday.
 
The first 35-minutes saw zero separation between the two sides, as the Bombers and Thoroughbreds traded periods of territorial control in a see-saw half. Both teams posted seven shot attempts in the frame, while IC held a slim 5-4 advantage in penalty corner chances.
 
IC had an excellent chance less than two-minutes into play, as senior striker Meg Dowd made a great individual play. The senior made a nice defensive play to steal possession near midfield and took off like a rocket down the right flank on a partial break. She was able to gain enough separation for a sharp angle shot near the right post, but Skidmore goalie Elizabeth Coughlin stacked the pads to make the save.
 
Ithaca had another quality scoring chance with a little under 10-minutes remaining. Working on a penalty corner, Dowd put the insert to senior back Kimmy Briscoe on the right wing of the arc. She loaded up a hard shot-pass to the far left post. Samantha Horowitz was in perfect position for the deflection, but the angle was just off, as the ball struck the first-year's stick and drifted just wide of the post.
 
Skidmore was held in check by Ithaca's senior-laden backline of Kaylou Stoddard, Briscoe, Shelby McDavid and Maddie Keppel. The Thoroughbreds found very little space to operate in the final third, while junior keeper Savanna Lenker was on-point with two saves in the half. Skidmore's best chance came as time expired, but Natalie Metzger's shot from the left wing on a penalty corner chance sailed through the slot and out the other side to end the frame.
 
The Thoroughbreds got off to a fast start when play resumed in the second half. The visitors earned a couple early chances, a warning shot of what was to come. Lenker came up with a big save on Gabby Hyman 1:44 after play resumed, while 30-seconds later Marissa Folts directed a shot towards cage that McDavid swatted away for a defensive save to keep the contest scoreless.
 
Ithaca began to find its offensive footing with 25-minutes to go in regulation. Briscoe was denied a hard slap-shot from the left wing on a penalty corner chance in the 44^th-minute, while senior midfielder Maddy Ryan had a hard shot from the center point blocked in the 45^th-minute of play. With Ithaca seemingly closing in on an opener, it was actually Skidmore that finally found the breakthrough against the run of play.
 
A turnover in the midfield sparked the visitor's goal. Gabrielle Vaccaro started the play with a steal and whipped an area pass into space inside the scoring arc. Gabby Hyman ran the race to the loose ball with Lenker charging out to clear the zone. Hyman made a patient play to stick-handle around Lenker and was able to sneak a sharp-angle shot from the right post that eluded the out-stretched stick of McDavid who raced back in emergency defense.
 
The Bombers pushed hard for the equalizer over the final minutes of regulation, but Skidmore played smothering defense, blocking shots left and right to preserve the lead. Ithaca fired eight shot attempts in the final 20-minutes of regulation, but was unable to find the cracks in the Thoroughbreds strong backline.
 
Ithaca will conclude their regular season home schedule on Wednesday, October 24, when SUNY Oneonta comes to Higgins Stadium for a 5:00 p.m. start.