INTERACTIVE BRACKET

ITHACA, N.Y. – The Ithaca College women's soccer team was selected as one of 20 at-large bids during Monday's NCAA Division III women's soccer Selection Show. It will be the Bombers 28^th NCAA Tournament appearance with IC returning to the prestigious tournament for the first time since 2018.

The Bombers who are currently 14-4 on the season, head to Wesleyan University (Conn.) where they will face Stevens in Saturday's first round game. Penn State Behrend rounds out the four-team pod and will square off against the host team, Wesleyan. The winners of each game will meet in Sunday's second round contest.
 
ITHACA VS. REGIONAL FIELD
 
Stevens

The Bombers are no strangers to the Ducks as they were perennial rivals in the Empire 8 before Ithaca joined the Liberty League conference in 2017. They have met 15 times on the soccer field since 2007 and Ithaca holds a slight 8-6-1 edge over Stevens. Most recently, IC battled to a 3-2 overtime loss in the 2016 Empire 8 championship and they have not met since.
 
Penn State Behrend
Ithaca and Penn State Behrend have played each there twice all-time with the most recent contest occurring in the first round of the NCAA Tournament during the 2013 season. The Bombers bested the Nittany Lions by a 3-0 score. Ithaca advanced all the way to the NCAA quarterfinals that season.

Wesleyan University
Ithaca has never faced the pod host Wesleyan University in women's soccer.
 
ITHACA VS. 2021 NCAA PLAYOFF FIELD
 
The Bombers know just two of the other NCAA playoff teams well, as Ithaca has played Liberty League conference foe William Smith twice this season and faced Nazareth College on Sept. 18. William Smith won the conference to earn the automatic bid, while Nazareth won the Empire 8 and will be making its 11^th NCAA Tournament appearance.

Most recently, IC played William Smith to a 2-2 tie at the end of regulation in the Liberty League championship match on Sunday, but the Herons stunned Ithaca with a game-winner in the 107^th minute. The game-winner was a left-footed shot that bounced off the crossbar but spun into the lower right-hand corner of the net as the top-seeded team in the tournament, William Smith just got away with the title. Alex Epifani and Rosie Bostian both netted goals in the loss as the Bombers held two different leads during the 90 minutes of regulation.
 
Ithaca also played Nazareth and they lost a narrow 1-0 decision on Carp Wood Field. Defense was the tale of the tape in the first half, as neither team could find a way to net a goal. The Bombers threatened numerous times offensively, however, including a Megan O'Reilly shot attempt that fell right into the hands of the Nazareth goalkeeper just four minutes into the contest.

Just seven minutes out of the halftime break, Nazareth struck quickly to grab a 1-0 lead. Golden Flyers forward Kristen Prohaska surged a shot into the box and the ball bounced right back to midfielder McKayla Hughes, who tapped the ball into the top left corner of the goal from seven yards out.
 
ITHACA IN THE NCAA PLAYOFFS
 
The Bombers are making their 28^th appearance in the NCAA Division III championship and their 16^th since 2000. Most recently, IC lost in the second round in 2018 to Middlebury College. Ithaca has won two national championships, in 1990 and 1991 and was the national runner-up in 1989. The Bombers made the tournament for the first time in 1987 when they battled Scranton.
 
THE 2021 CHAMPIONSHIP
 
Sixteen four-team sites will conduct first- and second-round play on the first weekend of the championship, November 12-13 or 13-14. Second-round winners will advance to one of four sectional sites November 19-20 or 20-21. All games, except the semifinals and final, will be played on the campuses of the competing institutions. Winners of the four sectionals will advance to the semifinals on December 3 and then the finals on December 4, UNCG Soccer Stadium in Greensboro, N.C, with the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and Greensboro Sports Commission serving as hosts.
 
LEADERS
 
The Bombers have been led this season in scoring by graduate forward Alex Epifani this season, as she leads the team with six goals and eight assists. Her 20 points is the fourth most in the Liberty League. Classmate Kelsey Espenhorst had an outstanding Liberty League tournament netting a hat-trick in the semifinals against Union College. Espenhorst is the second leading scorer for the Bombers totaling eight goals and an assist this year.

Ithaca has a strong core group of defenders that lead the defensive backline. Kate Kohler, Allison Heft and Jessica Bredin have played integral roles in the Bombers' success this season.
 
Sophomore goalkeeper Claire Reader has tallied nine shutouts, the most in the Liberty League and that is tied for 10^th best in NCAA Division III. She has tallied 73 saves and owns a sparkling 0.86 goals against average in 1570:13 minutes of play this season.
 
More information on the regional including the game time and streaming links will be posted later this week.