ITHACA, N.Y. – The Ithaca College field hockey team improved to 2-0 on the season as the Bombers took down Misericordia, 1-0, at Higgins Stadium in the 2026 home opener. Senior goalkeeper
Maeve Clark made all nine of her saves in the second half, including eight in the fourth quarter to preserve the win.
The Bombers took a 1-0 lead at the 8:22 mark of the first quarter as
Payton Yahner sent a pass from over 25-yards out into the circle where
Toni Ierardi was waiting to redirect the ball into the back of the net.
IC took four shots in the first quarter and did not allow Misericordia to take any, but the Cougars did earn a corner in the final seconds. Misericordia's goalkeeper kept the game at 1-0 with two saves in the period.
The second quarter was a battle for possession the entire 15 minutes as the Bombers fired off one shot and earned a corner, while keeping Misericordia shotless.
Misericordia came out of intermission aggressively and controlled most of the action. The Cougars put two shots on goal and produced many other scoring chances, which were all thwarted by the IC defense to keep the contest at 1-0.
The story of the fourth quarter was Clark. Misericordia continued to apply offensive pressure throughout the final 15 minutes and rattled off eight shots with three corner attempts, but Clark stopped all eight attempts, with five of those coming over the final four-plus minutes of regulation.
Clark finished the night with nine saves to earn her second win of the season.
Ithaca is back in action on Sunday morning against No. 21 Haverford at 11 a.m.
