ITHACA, N.Y. – In the Ithaca College field hockey team's first Liberty League game of the 2022 season, the Bombers shutout the Union College Dutchwomen, 3–0, on Saturday afternoon at Higgins Stadium to improve to 5–2 overall. The victory snaps Ithaca's two-game losing streak.
 
The Bombers kicked off their Liberty League play with their second shutout of the season. Graduate student Jacqueline Mirabile tallied the game-winning goal, sophomore striker Natalie Descalso scored one goal with one assist in the contest, and senior striker Morgan Mullen found the back of the net as well. Graduate student goalkeeper Macy Brandwein stopped all eight shots on goal for the Bombers.
 
The first quarter was a battle for possession, as both teams could not find anything in terms of scoring, but each had their chances. On a corner insert early in the game, Brandwein was tested just three minutes in, as a shot was blocked but a follow up was on target. Brandwein made the save before a foul on Union gave possession to the Bombers. About halfway through the quarter, graduate student midfielder Jacqueline Mirabile found junior Avery Moses off a corner, but her shot was saved, and senior striker Elizabeth Pillow's second chance went wide.
 
Five minutes into the second quarter, the Union offense kicked it up a notch, peppering the Bombers with shots and corners. A Union striker found herself on a breakaway after a pass slipped through the Bombers defense, and deked out Brandwein, but first year midfielder Amalia Hickey recovered and stopped a wide-open goal on the doorstep for a defensive save. The Dutchwomen had four shots in the span of a minute, but none got past Brandwein. With six minutes to go, the Bombers had a corner insert that started with Mirabile, passing it to sophomore striker Emma Garver, who found Descalso for a shot from the wing, which was redirected by Mirabile into the back of the cage for the first goal of the game.
 
The third quarter started out with both teams unable to generate much until Pillow passed it inside to Mullen to put the Bombers up 2–0 with half the quarter left. A couple minutes later, Descalso snuck behind the defense and first year striker Brenna Schoenfeld threaded a pass through the Dutchwomen defenders, and Descalso buried it to put the Bombers up 3–0 late in the frame.
 
Ithaca sat back defensively in the fourth to preserve the lead, not registering a shot on goal offensively. Union almost got on the board late in the game, but Brandwein made a series of saves to secure the shutout.
 
The Bombers next game is Wednesday, September 28 in Scranton, Pennsylvania against University of Scranton at 7:30 p.m.