SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – The Ithaca College field hockey team broke out of its offensive funk in a big way on Saturday afternoon when the Bombers opened up Liberty League action on the road at Union College. With the victory, Ithaca improves to 6-4 on the year and 1-0 in Liberty League action. It is the second consecutive year that IC has begun the league slate with a shutout win over the Dutchwomen.
 
The Bombers entered play on Saturday looking for a spark. After stringing together five consecutive victories to open the year, IC had fallen on hard times over the past couple of weeks. What was a red-hot offense during the first two weeks had been completely stymied to the tune of just two combined goals during a four-game skid entering the day on Saturday. IC certainly broke out of those doldrums this afternoon, pumping in four goals in a convincing win on the road.
 
It was sophomore transfer Morgan Mullen that powered Ithaca's offensive explosion in today's game. IC's leading scorer for the season padded her Liberty League leading total with a first-half hat trick, which gave the visiting Bombers a stranglehold on this contest early. Mullen scored once in the first quarter and added two additional scoring strikes in the second quarter to notch the first hat trick for an Ithaca player since 2019-graduate Meg Dowd tallied three goals in a victory over Brockport to end the 2017 season.
 
Junior midfielder Arleigh Rodgers also added a fourth-quarter goal to put the exclamation point on Ithaca's dominant performance. It was the third-year talent's first goal.
 
At the other end of the field, Ithaca put together another stellar defensive performance, which has been a staple of the team during the first half of the season. Senior captain Savanna Lenker posted four saves in 56:06 of action, before ceding the cage to sophomore Macy Brandwein for the final 3:54 of the game. Brandwein notched two saves in her limited action to help complete the combo shutout. Sophomore back Allison Egan also helped the effort with another defensive save to add to one of the Liberty League's top marks.
 
It was an exciting opening quarter, as both sides traded shooting chances during the early going. It was IC that would find the breakthrough in the waning seconds of the quarter. First-year Brianna Lennon fired a shot from the mid-slot, which Mullen redirected into the lower left corner to give Ithaca a big lead heading into the first intermission.
 
It did not take long for the Bombers to rev up the offensive engines in the second quarter. Ithaca took control of things with a two-goal flurry during the opening five minutes of the second. Again it was Mullen that was the one to cash in for the Bombers. On the first, she corralled a loose ball at the near-side post and lifted a top-shelf shot into the upper left corner. She notched her hat trick just 1:53 later, tipping home a cross-crease pass from first-year Elizabeth Pillow from the sideline. The scoring barrage gave Ithaca a commanding 3-0 lead with just over 10-minutes left in the half.
 
Union did not back down, coming out of a halftime with a significant push to get back into the game. Ithaca's defense was up to the task to keep the Dutchwomen at bay. The hosts had an early flurry in which Egan made her defensive save and Lenker padded away successive shots from Charlotte Leyland. The back half of the third also had some fireworks as well. Lenker had to make a sharp save on Katie Talacci 2:55 to play in the frame, while the defense clamped down to prevent a Union shot on back-to-back penalty corner chances to close out the quarter.
 
Rodgers put the bow on things for IC, scoring her first of the season from the left wing on a shot that found its way through a big scramble in front. The goal with 11:28 to play stymied Union's momentum, helping the Bombers to their second biggest margin of victory on the year.
 
Ithaca returns to action next Saturday, October 5, when the Bombers welcome RPI for their Liberty League home opener. The contest is set to be played at 1:00 p.m.