ITHACA, N.Y. – The nationally ranked No. 25 Ithaca College field hockey team received one of eight at-large bids to the NCAA Division III Championship and will travel to Endicott College in Beverly, Mass. for a first round game on Wednesday, November 8 at 4 p.m. The winner will move onto the second round to face No. 4 Johns Hopkins University (18-1) on Saturday, November 11 at 10 a.m. in Baltimore, Md.

GAME COVERAGE: WATCH | LIVE STATS

TICKET INFORMATION: $10 – tickets go on sale at 12 p.m. Tuesday.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ncaa-diii-field-hockey-endicott-vs-ithaca-tickets-753397180247?aff=oddtdtcreator

ITHACA IN THE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP: The Bombers, who are 14-6 on the season, will be making their first NCAA appearance since 2000 and their 17th all-time. IC is 12-15 in the NCAA Tournament and won the 1982 national championship. The Bombers also finished as the national runner-up in 1983. The Bombers' last NCAA win came back in 1997, a 2-1 win over Eastern Mennonite.

MORE ABOUT THE BOMBERS: IC lost the Liberty League title game to William Smith, 1-0, to reach the championship round for the second time in three seasons.

The Bombers possess a stingy defense that has allowed 20 goals on the season, while its offense has scored 41 times. IC has shutout its opposition nine times.

Natalie Descalso leads the Bombers with six goals and 13 assists for 25 points, while Juliana Valli has nine goals on the year. Meara Bury is next in scoring with eight goals and two assists.

Alex Clough is 13-5 in goal for IC with a .785 save percentage and 0.93 GAA in 1100 minutes played. The back line of Bella McCollister, Madeleine Goodman, Emma Garver, Nicole Fortunato and Kiley Sullivan have made it difficult all season for opponents to produce scoring chances.

SCOUTING ENDICOTT: The Gulls, who are 16-4, won their sixth Commonwealth Coast Conference on Saturday with a 2-1 win over Roger Williams. Endicott will also be making its sixth trip to the NCAA Tournament (2011, 2012, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2023) and is 3-5 all-time.

The Gulls are an offensive powerhouse with 80 goals on the season, while allowing just 30. Endicott has only been shutout once this season – its season opener at Babson.

Four different players have tallied over 10 goals this season, led by Tori Swanson with 21. Maddy Dengler has 14 goals on the year, followed by 11 from Kathleen Reissfelder and 10 by Reagan Hicks. Reissfelder also leads the team with 11 assists.

Alexis DeMattia has played all 20 games in goal with 19 starts and owns a 1.42 GAA and .808 save percentage. DeMattia has made 108 saves in over 1050 minutes of action. Meghan Lehouiller has seven defensive saves.

THE 2023 NCAA DIVISION III CHAMPIONSHIP: The field hockey championship is made up of 28 teams consisting of 16 automatic bids and eight at-large selections. There are 10 first round games that all begin on Wednesday and six teams receive byes to the second round. The third round takes place on November 13, followed by the semifinals and finals on November 17-18 in Newport News, Va.

ITHACA VS. THE NCAA FIELD: The Bombers faced four teams this season who reached the NCAA Division III Championship – Cortland, Kean, William Smith and York (Pa.). The Bombers have never played Endicott in 56 years of sponsoring field hockey as a varsity sport.