When playing in the final regular season game for the women’s soccer team this season, senior Emily Mogk said she almost felt like she was moving away from her hometown.

“It was pretty sentimental for me since Carp Wood Field has been my home for the past four years,” she said.

Head Coach Mindy Quigg said her group of five seniors has been a big asset to get the Bombers to their 14–4–1 overall record. The group consists of Mogk, Liz Masucci, Amy Scheffer, and Winnie Adrien, as well as graduate student Lauren Koppel, who missed last season because of an injury.

Masucci began her college career on the University of New Hampshire track and field team before transferring to Ithaca College. She said she has no regrets about joining the soccer team.

“With our work rate in practice I always felt like I was really pushing myself more than I had been doing in track,” she said.

Masucci still has a year of eligibility left and hopes to return to the team as a graduate student, like Koppel did this season. Koppel was second on the team with 11 goals and five assists this season. Since seven of her classmates from last season graduated, Koppel said this year has been bittersweet.

“I felt like we were missing a lot of players at the beginning of the season,” she said. “But now I feel like we have new players who have filled in those gaps nicely.”

Dating back to the 2006 season, the Blue and Gold have gone 63–15–4 with the five senior starters. Thirty of those wins came against Empire 8 opponents.

Though Quigg does not appoint team captains, she said each group of seniors always has additional responsibilities to the team.

“The seniors must be a mentor to the new players on and off the field and help them recognize our philosophy of hard work and dedication,” she said.

Quigg said Scheffer, an All-American, personified these values with her play throughout her career. Scheffer was a first-team all-state pick and the 2008 Empire 8 Offensive Player of the Year. Her 90 career points are second all-time at the college.

“She is one of our best players out there almost every game,” Quigg said. “She is always prepared to face our opponent’s best player.”

At the end of the season, the South Hill squad will lose another All-American in Adrien, who had a total of 38 points for the College of Wooster before coming to play for the Bombers. She had a hat trick in an NCAA win over Westfield State College and scored five points in the 2008 Empire 8 Championship win against Nazareth College. Quigg said Adrien’s quickness on the outside was her strongest asset to the team.

“We worked a lot on her speed up top, and that really helped develop her into the player she is today,” she said.

Mogk’s 14 career assists are 11th on the college’s all-time list, and she played in a record 18 games as a freshman, including NCAA playoff matches against SUNY-Brockport and Messiah College.

Koppel said it is important for the seniors to leave behind a legacy that exemplifies team values expressed by Quigg. The Bombers hope to continue their success Saturday in the NCAA regional semifinal.

“We want to be remembered for our commitment and dedication to the team and their success,” she said.

Box Score - Nazareth vs #22 Ithaca (11/08/09 at Ithaca, N.Y.)