ITHACA, N.Y. – The Ithaca College field hockey team was back on home turf on Wednesday night when it reconvened for its annual rivalry game against SUNY Cortland under the lights at Higgins Stadium. Unfortunately, IC was unable to score a victory over its Route 13 neighbors in back-to-back years, as a two-goal flurry in the third quarter helped the Red Dragons escape South Hill with a 2-1 win. The loss for the Bombers drops their record to 5-2 on the year.
 
The contest was quite spirited from the outset on this picturesque and crisp early fall evening. Ithaca entered the contest motivated to not only shrug off a disappointing 2-1 first defeat to Susquehanna over the weekend, but also to make some history. The Bombers had not beaten SUNY Cortland in back-to-back seasons dating back to the late-90's, but had the opportunity to do just that after snapping a lengthy losing streak to their rivals with a 4-3 win up in Cortland a season ago. That loss certainly still lingered with the visitors, as SUNY Cortland looked energized from the opening whistle to avenge that loss.
 
What ensued over the hour and a half contest was a very entertaining clash of evenly-matched teams. IC's young squad did not shy away in the face of a certainly more seasoned Cortland outfit that featured seven upperclassmen starters. SUNY Cortland finished the night with a nominal 13-to-10 edge in shot attempts, while Ithaca actually held a 10-to-6 advantage in penalty corners. It was a field stretching contest throughout with play bouncing between offensive zones with very little bogged down play in the midfield. Unfortunately, it was a two-goal flurry for the visitors that proved to be the difference, as SUNY Cortland was able to erase a halftime deficit with two quick-strike tallies from senior striker Molly Quinlan in the third quarter to pull out the 2-1 win.
 
IC received its lone goal from sophomore striker Samantha Horowitz, while classmate Victoria Sestito registered an assist on what was her teammate's third goal of the campaign. On the opposite end of the field, IC received a heroic effort from senior goalkeeper Savanna Lenker, who steered away nine shots for saves albeit in a loss. Sophomore back Allison Egan also chipped in on the act with her third defensive save of the season. Overall, Ithaca played quite well across the back to neutralize a highly potent Red Dragon offense for most of the evening.
 
The contest began quite tactically during the opening quarter, as neither side was able to find the final linkages in the attacking third of the field to generate quality looks at target. SUNY Cortland had the better of the few looks during the first 15-minutes, but Lenker came up large with two nice sprawling saves on shots by Hannah Burchell 1:31 apart. IC was able to grab a foothold in the attacking zone during the waning minutes of the opening quarter, earning a penalty corner that ultimately resulted in shot attempt by sophomore Morgan Mullen that was blocked. The finish to the quarter for IC was a harbinger of things to come in the second frame.
 
Ithaca really began to establish a presence in Cortland's defensive zone during the final minutes of the second quarter, utilizing the possession to snag a lead heading into halftime. The first close-call came with just under five-minutes remaining in the half, as sophomore Jacqueline Mirabile re-directed a shot attempt high over the cage. IC again threatened with under a minute remaining, as junior Kristen Rafferty gained possession in the slot on a penalty corner. She was able to turn in traffic and direct a shot on target that was swatted away with the blocker of Cortland goalie Marisa D'Amico. However, IC kept up the pressure and was rewarded with a final penalty corner chance with just 22-seconds left on the clock. It would be just enough time for Ithaca to strike pay-dirt.
 
It was Horowitz that started the scoring play with a smooth and perfectly-paced ball to the center point. IC would let the ball play through to Rafferty beyond the first wave, while the junior quickly whipped a pass over to Sestito who had lots of space on the left wing. Sestito loaded up a hard slap-shot towards the near-side post, which ended up caroming into the cage off of Horowitz's stick. The go-ahead goal came with just 12.4-seconds left on the clock.
 
Clearly smarting from the goal conceded late in the half, the Red Dragons came out fiery when play resumed for the third quarter. Although IC began the opening minutes of the quarter with some nice possession time deep in Cortland territory, it was a pair of quick strikes that made all the difference in tonight's contest.
 
The first goal caught IC's backline a bit stretched, perhaps getting a little too far upfield with IC controlling a vast share of the possession in the early minutes. SUNY Cortland's Quinlan was able to break free behind the defense on a partial breakaway from just past the midfield stripe in towards goal. Lenker charged out to cut down the angle, while IC's back line did well in pursuit to hound Quinlan as she progressed upfield. However, Quinlan displayed some serious skill, pulling up from just inside the arc and darting to her right to create a shooting angle around the sprawling Lenker, before executing a beautiful slap-shot into the back netting of the vacant cage.
 
Perhaps a bit shocked by the suddenness of the equalizer, IC again was caught out a bit and was made to pay. Just over 90-seconds later, IC conceded a penalty corner. Although the initial stop was made by Lenker on Burchell, possession remained deep in IC's zone and Burchell was able to find Quinlan on the left side of the arc and she executed a beautiful reverse chip inside the far post. The goal pushed the visitors ahead 2-1.
 
Ithaca did not back down despite finding itself trailing. The Bombers generated three penalty corners throughout the remainder of the quarter, while Lenker had a splendid sequence with just over five-minutes left in the frame. The senior keeper turned away three Cortland shots in quick succession.
 
The fourth quarter also featured three penalty corner chances for IC, but the Bombers were just unable to get the ball settled enough for a shot on target. The best look probably came from Rafferty, who earned possession in the slot, but had her turning shot blocked away by the marking defender. Sestito also got a nice look at goal, but her shot from the left wing drifted just wide of the far-right post.
 
Ithaca will return to the field turf this weekend when it hits the road to face SUNY Geneseo on Saturday, September 21. Start time is set for 6:30 p.m.