MADISON, N.J. - The Ithaca College field hockey team kicked off their 2018 campaign in excellent fashion when they opened the season on the road in the first game of a weekend back-to-back in New Jersey. On the strength of three opening half scoring strikes, the Bombers raced past the Rangers for a 3-0 shutout to begin the season 1-0 for the first time since 2015.
 
All three IC tallies came during a 10-minute scoring barrage midway through the first half. Absolutely dominating the possession battle, Ithaca finally cashed during the 19^th-minute of play when junior midfielder Kendall Keil capitalized on a penalty corner opportunity. The third-year started the sequence with the insert into play. First-year back Anna Parrish delivered a shot on target that was kicked away with the blocker. However, Keil scored off the ensuing rebound in front of the cage to lift the Bombers to a deserved 1-0 lead.
 
Six minutes later rookie striker Jacqueline Mirabile scored the first goal of her collegiate career on a similar play. IC again working off a penalty corner, Mirabile started the play with the insert into play and later tipped home senior captain Maddy Ryan's shot from the top of the circle.
 
Senior captain Meg Dowd capped the scoring in the opening half 4:10 later with a rebound goal on a fast break. Senior striker Maria McGloin started the scoring move by the delivering the initial shot with Dowd swiping home the rebound past Drew keeper Ryann Callaghan. The goal was much deserved for IC's highest returning scorer from last season, as she launched five shot attempts in the opening half and six total for the game.
 
Defensively, the Bombers were stifling. It took Drew nearly 40-minutes of game action to register its first shot attempt, while Ithaca held the home side to three total in the contest. The senior back line of Maddie Keppel, Kimmy Briscoe and Kaylou Stoddard was rock solid when called upon, while nine different IC players saw time off the bench.
 
While the first half was fairly uneventful, junior goalkeeper Savanna Lenker saw slightly more action when the contest got back underway in the second half. She earned her first shutout of the season, making three saves over the final 35-minutes to maintain the clean sheet and move to 1-0 on the season.
 
The Bombers' opening weekend road trip will get significantly more challenging tomorrow afternoon when IC continues its Garden State tour at 10^th-ranked Montclair State. Start time for the contest is slated for 1:00 p.m.