ITHACA, N.Y. - The No. 23 Ithaca College field hockey team picked up a decisive 4-0 non-conference victory over Wilkes University under the lights at Higgins Stadium this past Wednesday Night. The Bombers dominated possession in the second half, scoring three of their goals in the final 30 minutes.
After a first period that was largely dominated by Wilkes, it was the Bombers that struck first. Wilkes controlled the majority of possession during the first period, including a corner, the Bombers went on attack with just under three minutes to go. After senior striker
Toni Ierardi got fouled, the Bombers earned a corner.
On the right side of the net, sophomore midfielder
Amelia MacDonald passed it in to senior striker Carolina Folan. Folan swung it to junior defender/midfielder
Ellie Gipe. Gipe shot it low to the left of the goalie, passed the stick of Ieradi who did not touch the ball but still impacted the play.
Wilkes had opportunities to score throughout the first half with three corners. The first two attempts did not yield a shot, but the third led to two with just over five minutes to go in the half. The first one was saved by senior goalie
Maeve Clark who laid out to deflect the ball. Clark immediately got up, and deflected the next shot by Shaelyn Donnelly. The Bombers were eventually able to clear the ball out of trouble as they maintained their early lead.
After the two scoring threats, Wilkes controlled possession for the majority of the final few minutes, but were unable to get another shot on net or draw another corner. The Bombers took a 1-0 lead into the halftime break.
After Wilkes controlled possession for the majority of the first half, the Bombers came out strong in the second half. They controlled the ball, and with just under ten minutes left in the period, senior midfielder
Audrey McMahon scored off a deflection in the front of the goal to give the Bombers a 2-0 lead.
The Bombers continued to dominate the third period, controlling both the tempo and possession of the game resulting in multiple corners and shot attempts. With just under five minutes in the period, the Bombers notched another goal off a deflection, this one off the stick of junior
Sadie Ruiz to give the Bombers a commanding 3-0 advantage.
The Bombers added one more goal with around 5:30 to go. McMahon took the corner and passed it to senior midfielder
Payton Yahner. Yahner swung it left to senior midfielder Brookie Snider. Snider shot it towards the center just in front of the net. Ruiz was able to find the ball in traffic and deflect it to the right of the goalie to give the Bombers a 4-0 lead.
The Bombers improve to 5-1 on the season and will be back in action on Sunday September 20 when they take on Susquehanna University at Higgins Stadium 2 p.m.
