ITHACA, N.Y. – The nationally ranked No. 25 Ithaca College field hockey team earned its first Liberty League win of the season in dramatic fashion as the Bombers defeated RPI, 2-1, in overtime on Senior Day at Higgins Stadium Sunday afternoon.
RPI jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the fifth minute of the contest on a short-handed goal. The Bombers would control possession for the remainder of the quarter by taking five shots but could not find an equalizer.
The Engineers would outshoot the Bombers, 8-6, over the next two quarters of action and held a 6-3 advantage in corners, but the game remained 1-0 heading to the fourth quarter.
Momentum swung back to Ithaca with six minutes left in regulation as RPI was awarded a penalty stroke and the ensuing attempt was saved by
Maeve Clark, who finished the afternoon with 10 stops.
IC quickly moved the ball to the other end of the field, and over the next two minutes, the Bombers earned three corners and took three shots. The final shot attempt by
Eliza Ballaro found the back of the net off a corner insert from
Brenna Schoenfeld to knot the game at 1-1 with 3:37 to go.
Both teams were able to put a shot on goal over the final three minutes, but both were saved and the contest went to overtime, which was the seventh occurrence in the nine all-time meetings.
Midway through the first overtime, IC secured a corner chance and capitalized to win the game. Schoenfeld sent the insert to Ballaro, who then sent a shot towards goal, and it redirected off a defender's stick to Schoenfeld for the game-winner.
The Bombers are back home next Saturday, October 11 against No. 22 Rochester.
