ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The Ithaca College field hockey team had its prolific run of victories come to an end on Wednesday evening when the Bombers headed to Rochester for the first of two trips to the Flower City this week when they faced St. John Fisher in a non-league battle. The Cardinals were able to stymie IC's prolific attack, the first opponent to keep Ithaca scoreless in 2018, in a 1-0 defeat that snapped Ithaca's six-game winning streak. With the loss, the Bombers record fell to 7-2 on the year.
 
The lone score in the contest came in the 37^th-minute, as Bre Socker broke a scoreless deadlock with a goal off a penalty corner opportunity. The tally was a microcosm of the second half, as St. John Fisher turned in an impressive second half effort, which resulted in an 11-to-4 shot advantage and 3-to-0 edge in penalty corner opportunities.
 
Ithaca's junior goalie Savanna Lenker turned in one of her most impressive performances of the season, but suffered the hard-luck loss on the night. She finished with nine saves in the contest, six of which came during the Cardinals' second-half flurry.
 
IC had the better of the play during the opening half of play, looking crisp and effective in the attacking third of the field. The sharp play helped the Bombers to an 8-to-5 advantage in shot attempts during the first 35-minutes.
 
The Bombers did not wait long to spring into action on Wednesday. Just over five-minutes into the game Ithaca put together some significant sustained pressure. Senior midfielder Maddy Ryan launched the game's first shot on cage, which was turned away by Fisher's Ashley Maynard. Ultimately, the play resulted in a penalty corner opportunity, which Ithaca turned into three successive shots. The first shot by first-year back Victoria Sestito was blocked; however, the rebound fell to senior striker Maria McGloin. IC's leading goal scorer had her first shot stopped by Maynard, while her second shot of the sequence was knocked away by Fisher's back Lindsay Scott on a defensive save.
 
Midway through the half Ithaca got another bout of sustained pressure. The Bombers earned four straight penalty corner chances, but Maynard again was sharp to turn IC away. On the first corner, McGloin again got a shot on cage that was stopped. The second and fourth corners resulted in IC shots by senior back Kimmy Briscoe that were again parried away by Maynard.
 
Ithaca earned one final chance before the halftime horn. Junior midfielder Kendall Keil provided a penalty corner insert right as the half expired, but Maddy Ryan's lofted shot went high of the cage to end the half in a scoreless 0-0 deadlock.
 
Fisher took control of the contest just 1:47 into the second half on Bre Socker's tally off the penalty corner. The majority of the play remained in IC's zone until the waning moments of the contest. Lenker posted four saves down the stretch to keep Ithaca within just one equalizer of sending the game to overtime.
 
The Bombers best chance of the second session came with just under five minutes to play. Sophomore Arleigh Rodgers got the first look during the sequence, sending a shot just wide of the post. A minute later Maddy Ryan launched a shot that was blocked, while McGloin added a final shot attempt with 2:52 left that traveled wide of the target.
 
Ithaca returns to action on Saturday, September 29, when it faces No. 8 Rochester in a crucial Liberty League battle. Start time in Rochester is scheduled for noon.