Junior forward Laura Murphy said she knew she had to change things around for the field hockey team. Down 1–0 after the first half of play against Utica College on Oct. 17 in Utica, N.Y., Murphy took the game into her own hands and provided a major lift for the Bombers.

“We weren’t necessarily nervous being down by a goal,” Murphy said. “But we knew we had to be more aggressive and step up to every single ball in the second half.”  

Aggressive play was exactly what the Bombers needed. The Pioneers, who were known for solid Empire 8 play and a 7–4 overall record, weren’t backing down. Utica sophomore forward Rebecca Corsones scored 17 minutes into the game to put the Pioneers up 1–0.

“They’ve always been known as being a good team,” Murphy said. “But we needed this win, especially to keep the postseason alive for us.”

Murphy gave the Blue and Gold the spark they needed to stay in the game, as well as the hope for a bid to the Empire 8 Championship tournament. She capitalized on a rebound and scored to tie the game at 1–1, 28 minutes later.

Prior to the Utica game, the Bombers had been struggling in nonconference play while staying afloat in the Empire 8. Though they only own a conference record of 2–3, they have played solid games, all within two goals, against Empire 8 opponents Washington & Jefferson College, Hartwick College and No. 16 Stevens Institute of Technology.

Despite these loses, the Blue and Gold’s play on the field against Utica spoke volumes to their never-quit attitude and willingness to play hard until the last second. A win against the Pioneers would prove to the rest of the Empire 8 that the Bombers were still contenders and ready to keep their postseason faith alive.

“It was the most important game of our season at that point,” senior goalkeeper Chelsea Welsh said. “We had to win it or else we had little chance to compete in postseason.”

With the season at stake, the Bombers upped their game in the second half by stepping up to more balls and creating penalty corners. Murphy’s goal gave the Bombers the hope, but it was freshman forward Tracy Rivas’ goal that gave the Bombers the edge against the Pioneers.

“The goals we scored were huge,” junior back Key Fox said. “We had played tough throughout the game, and now we knew we couldn’t back down for anything.”

Six minutes later, the Bombers made the biggest stand of the game. The Pioneers forced a penalty stroke, and it was left up to Welsh to keep the lead for the Bombers.

“I just knew I had to save it,” Welsh said. “A score meant overtime and who knew what would happen — I wanted to end it right there.”

Welsh didn’t have to worry about what overtime would bring. She successfully blocked the penalty corner and sealed a 2–1 win over Utica.

Sitting in fifth in the conference standings, the Bombers have taken their season in stride and have proved to the rest of the conference they deserve a bid to the four-team Empire 8 Championship tournament. With a win against Elmira College on Saturday, they have a chance to move on to the postseason and leave the rest of their season behind them.

“We’ve been using what we did against Utica to improve,” Fox said. “We’re going to bring that fire and energy that we had against them to every practice and every game.”

Box Score - Ithaca vs Oswego (10/24/09 at Oswego, N.Y.)