The Ithaca field hockey team begins its pursuit of an Empire 8 title Saturday at noon when the Bombers face #19 Stevens Institute of Technology in a semifinal game in Hoboken, N.J.
Ithaca (5-11) is the fourth-seeded team in the Empire 8 tournament after finishing tied for third place with a 3-3 conference mark. The Bombers clinched their playoff spot with a 4-1 win over Elmira on the final day of the regular season.
Fans can follow the action at the official tournament Web page.
The Bombers have qualified for all three Empire 8 championship tournaments, which began in 2007. The winner of the tournament receives an automatic berth in the NCAA Division III Field Hockey Championship. The tournament field will be announced Monday at 9 a.m. on NCAA.com.
Ithaca is led in scoring by junior forward Katherine Brown (Akron/Akron) with five goals and six assists for 16 points. Those are career highs in goals and points for Brown, who led Ithaca with seven assists as a sophomore in 2008.
Senior captain Annie Onzik (Bishop O’Reilly/Shavertown, Pa.) shares the team goal-scoring lead with Brown as Onzik has five goals and two assists for 12 points. Sophomore forward Jessica Dillon (Mahopac/Mahopac) has a career-high four goals on the year, including two game-winning goals.
Senior goalkeepers Chelsea Welsh (Scotia-Glenville/Scotia) and Courtney Dowell (Massapequa/Massapequa) have shared Ithaca’s goaltending duties over the last three years and have combined to start 49 consecutive games and played every minute of those games. Ithaca has allowed nine fewer goals this season relative to last year, in one less game. Welsh is the current Empire 8 Goalie of the Week after making 11 saves in the first half of the win over Elmira.
This is the sixth all-time meeting between Ithaca and Stevens, and the Ducks hold a 4-1 lead in the series including a win in last year’s Empire 8 semifinals over the Bombers and a 2-0 regular-season victory this year in Ithaca.