ITHACA, N.Y. – The Ithaca College field hockey team was back on its home turf for the final time during the regular-season on Sunday afternoon when the Bombers played host to University of Rochester in match-up ripe with postseason seeding implications. It was IC that would prevail in a thrilling 2-1 win over the Yellowjackets, improving to 11-6 on the year, while also closing out the Liberty League slate with a 6-1 record.
 
Both sides entered the day on Sunday knowing that they would be a part of the postseason. Ithaca secured its first-ever Liberty League Tournament berth by virtue of its 1-0 road victory at William Smith on Friday, while Rochester also clinched a postseason berth with a 2-1 overtime home win against Union. With both teams carrying a 5-1 record into play, the pair was already locked into a Liberty League Semifinal matchup against each other; however, today's game would determine whether the contest would occur at Higgins Stadium or up in Rochester two Wednesday's from today. On the strength of a huge fourth-quarter effort, the Bombers prevailed in a thrilling 2-1 win. It was Ithaca's first victory over Rochester dating back to the 2015 season.
 
Junior striker Kristen Rafferty delivered the game-winning strike for the Bombers, sparking a dominant fourth-quarter effort for the hosts. IC had been hemmed into its own zone for much of the previous two quarters, but launched out of the gates with a vengeance to begin the final frame. IC came out flying on a counter-attack right off the opening whistle with a hard-charge down the right wing with nice link-up play from first-year Brianna Lennon and sophomore Jackie Mirabile. Possession got worked to sophomore striker Morgan Mullen on the end line and the second-year talent made a great play to shuffle a pass across the face of goal to first-year Meghana Caron at the left post. The rookie was stopped on her initial shot by a great save from Rochester keeper Kate Kujawa; however, she stuck with the rebound and lifted the ball towards the goal-line. Rafferty swooped in with a quick stick amongst the scrum in front, getting just enough of the ball to propel it over the line for the go-ahead tally.
 
Ithaca's best defense was its offense down the stretch. The Bombers kept the Yellowjackets trapped in their own zone for much of the final 15-minutes, registering a 9-to-2 advantage in shot-attempts, which included a 7-to-0 edge in shots on goal and a 3-to-0 advantage in penalty corner chances. Although Kujawa was at her best to keep IC from further advancing the lead, Ithaca put together an excellent finish with aggressive offense and relentless defending to close out the momentous victory.
 
It was another fast start by the Bombers that set the tone for the day. The hosts snagged an early 1-0 lead in the opening quarter, scoring a season-best 10^th goal during the first period to pull ahead. It was another excellently worked penalty corner that setup the go-ahead strike. Both sophomore back Victoria Sestito and senior midfielder Kendall Keil fired shots on target that were padded away by Kujawa; however, Mirabile was in perfect position to corral the rebound of Keil's shot and lift a looping shot over the crowd in front and into the cage to deliver the early 1-0 lead.
 
Rochester battled back with commanding quarters and the second and third. The Yellowjackets racked up an 11-to-1 advantage in shots and 8-to-0 edge in penalty corners during the middle periods of the game. Ithaca's defense held strong during the second quarter, stymieing the visitors to just one shot on target despite five penalty corner chances in the sequence. However, Rochester finally got the breakthrough it was looking for 5:06 into the third quarter when Kira Ozer tipped home a back-post pass from Amanda Strenk to tie the game.
 
Ithaca remained hemmed in for much of the third quarter, but the defense held strong. Senior keeper Savanna Lenker also aided to the effort, neutralizing several scoring threats with aggressive keeping in the cage, while also making a great stop on Rochester's Nikki Mercer on the doorstep to keep things deadlocked at 1-1.
 
Lenker finished the day with just two total saves, but was much more involved than the stat line indicated. It was the senior's 30^th career win in the Ithaca cage.
 
The Bombers honored their 2019 Senior Class before the game. Kendall Keil and Savanna Lenker were joined on the field by their families, while senior athletic trainer Derek Hessing and former player and current senior student manager Marrisa Harris were also recognized in a pregame ceremony.
 
Ithaca will be back in action next Saturday, November 2, when the Bombers hit the road to face SUNY New Paltz in the regular-season finale at 1:00 p.m. IC will be back on South Hill to kick-off postseason play when Rochester returns to town on Wednesday, November 6. Start time for that Liberty League Semifinal contest is still to be announced.