ITHACA, N.Y. – The Ithaca College field hockey team kept its strong start to the season going on Wednesday afternoon at sun-splashed Higgins Stadium. Sophomore transfer Morgan Mullen scored twice, while senior keeper Savanna Lenker kept a clean sheet for a second straight outing in a 2-0 home win over Hartwick. The victory improves IC's record to 5-0, which ties the 2013 team for the best start to a season in recent memory.
 
IC entered the day knowing a challenging test was on tap for the squad. The Hawks entered this afternoon's contest flying high after three consecutive victories to begin the year. When the ball got rolling shortly after 4:00 p.m. the contest quickly settled in to a grind. While IC's new-look attack and strong midfield ensured the hosts the majority of possession in the contest, Hartwick buckled down to deny scoring chances. In the end, IC outshot the visitors just 11-to-7 (5-to-4 in shots on goal) and held a narrow 8-to-5 edge in penalty corner opportunities despite out-possessing the Hawks by a healthy majority throughout the day.
 
It was one of IC's litany of talented newcomers that made the difference, as Mullen continued to wield the hot stick in the attacking zone. She tallied two excellent deflection goals to bring her scoring total to five in five starts this season. It was her second multi-goal game during IC's excellent stretch to begin the year.
 
On the other end, Lenker posted perhaps her best outing of the year. Despite facing just four shots on goal during the contest, all four stops were high-danger Hartwick chances that required quick reflexes and a high-degree of conviction to stymie the threat. It was the senior captain's third shutout in five appearances for the year.
 
The first quarter of the game was relatively quiet, but the Bombers certainly began to establish a foothold in the attacking zone as the period wore on. The closest scoring chance for either side came with just over a minute left in the quarter. With Ithaca working on its second penalty corner for the period, sophomore midfielder Jacqueline Mirabile inserted possession to junior back Katie Dick at the left side of the arc. She loaded up a hard slapper that was kicked away by the pad of Hartwick keeper Allyson Osborne. The IC junior corralled the rebound that returned back to her possession on the left side of the arc. She fired another attempt at cage that was again steered out of play by Osborne to end the threat.
 
The Bombers grabbed the leg-up on the scoreboard during the early part of the second quarter. It was IC's midfield that sparked the scoring play, as senior Kendall Keil and sophomore Grace Ziehnert made a nice passing play to weave through the stalwart Hartwick defense into the attacking third. A hard central drive was made by Ziehnert, who flipped the ball into the slot. Junior Arleigh Rodgers made a deft little pass to deflect the ball past two charging Hartwick defenders. Mullen was left unmarked behind the Hawks duo and swatted the ball out of mid-air with a reverse angle on her stick perfectly into the bottom left corner of the cage.
 
About five-minutes later, Hartwick put together their greatest scoring threat up until that point in the contest. With under five-minutes left in the half, the Hawks earned two successive penalty corners. The second in the sequence featured the first big save by Lenker, who made a great kick save on a hard slap-shot by Hartwick's Sydney Gagnon. The score would remain 1-0 heading into halftime.
 
The third quarter again featured Ithaca with a majority of possession, but little show in terms of attempts in the final third. IC's best chance came from Keil, who labeled a shot just wide of the left post on a penalty corner chance from the top of the arc. The shot trickled just inches wide of the cage.
 
Hartwick had the best looks to end the frame, but again Lenker was up to the task. She denied Tegan Robinson penalty corner chance, before posting her best save of the game with under a minute remaining in the third quarter. With time ticking down, Hartwick's Gagnon found her way behind the IC backline on a partial breakaway up the right wing. Gagnon had time and space and fired a tricky angled slap-shot from the right side of the arc that looked destined for the far-left corner. Lenker foiled the chance with a fantastic kick save with the right pad.
 
Mullen provided some needed insurance just 27-seconds into the final quarter. The goal came on a penalty corner chance that was executed to perfection. Sophomore Jacqueline Mirabile inserted the ball to junior back Katie Dick at the center point, a few yards beyond the attacking arc. Dick hit a hard slap-shot that traveled smoothly along the field-turf to the right post. Mullen was in perfect position to steer home the shot with the back-door tap-in to double IC's advantage.
 
Lenker posted one more solid stop on Gagnon with just under 10-minutes to play. However, the remainder of possession went to the Bombers over the final minutes. IC kept the Hawks hemmed in for much of the quarter to easily see out the win.
 
Ithaca returns to action on Saturday, September 14, when it travels to Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania, to take on Susquehanna University. Start time for the contest is set for 2:00 p.m.