Coming off a 2020 that halted all fall sports, the Ithaca College field hockey program has earned back-to-back trips to the Liberty League playoffs the past two seasons. However, there is one thing that is still missing: a Liberty League Championship.

This season will look a little different, as the team added new competition to this year’s schedule. Head coach Kaitlyn Wahila said she is looking forward to the opportunity for the team to compete against several nationally ranked teams, providing premium experience with these big matchups.

“This is the toughest schedule that I have coached since I’ve been here,” Wahila said. “We added three specific games that are going to heighten our strength of schedule; King University, Yorke University and Ursinus College are all top 25 teams traditionally and really strong programs. We really wanted to strengthen our schedule and are looking forward to that opportunity to compete against some of the best in Division III field hockey.”

Wahila said a couple of her biggest goals for the season are making sure her athletes are settled in and building a stronger team as the season rolls on.

“My goal as a coach is to really provide the best and most positive student-athlete experience that we can for everyone that’s on our team,” Wahila said. “We want to make sure our focus with our student-athletes is on the process of getting us to that point. It’s going to be really vital that we stay day-to-day and be consistent with our attitude and effort and with the work we put into our training sessions.”

Instead of highlighting individual players, Wahila believes that each class has the talent, potential and experience to help bring a Liberty League championship back to South Hill. 

“We have two fifth-years coming back and their experience is going to be very beneficial for our team, five seniors with very important overall leadership skills, seven juniors that will show great leadership on and off the field, five sophomores who took great strides this past spring and nine incoming first-years,” Wahlia said. “We are very excited to see what they will bring to our program.”

One of those leaders is senior captain and goalkeeper Alex Clough. Clough said the coaching staff has played an instrumental role in the development of her defense and the improved play of the rest of the team.

“Team-wise, in the spring, we crack down on our individual skills and our coaches really help prepare us as much as they can for the next season,” Clough said. “For me, as a teammate and how they’ve helped me, I can’t even begin to describe it. They are truly amazing as we work on leadership, team bonding and they even reach out just to say ‘Hi’ and keep the team together; I think it’s major, as they do a lot for us.”

In her first two seasons with the team, Clough started as goalkeeper in nine games, tallying over 300 minutes as the goalkeeper. Clough has also added up 289 minutes on the field out of the goal as a versatile player.

Clough said that despite looking back on the last two seasons in the playoffs, the team has a large number of underclassmen on the roster this season and that they will have to adapt to those changes to return to the playoffs.

“We are a different team than we were two years ago now that half of [the athletes] are gone,” Clough said. “We have a really big incoming class and you can’t come in with the same game plan, as we have a lot of different strengths now, so hopefully we can keep the momentum and excitement of going to leagues with us.”

Junior striker Natalie Descalso was an underclassman the last two seasons when the team made the playoffs. Just like Clough, Descalso said previous playoff experience helps bring the team together more and relieves the pressure of each game.

“Something I’ve always heard is not to put so much pressure on yourself for the postseason,” Descalso said. “Just treating it like it’s another game, as in once you get to the postseason, it’s just like a normal game rather than putting that extra pressure on yourself.”

In her first two seasons with the team, Descalso tallied 37 total points on 11 goals and 15 assists. In 2022, Descalso garnered a Liberty League Second Team selection and earned the National Field Hockey Coaches Association offensive player of the week honor Oct. 19, 2022.

Now that she is an upperclassman, Descalso said she is looking to step into a much bigger role this season both on and off the field, aiming to help the team in any way possible.

“I want to be someone everyone can talk to about anything, whether it relates to field hockey or not, I want to be there for my teammates,” Descalso said. “We talk about leadership and how it can be from any of the classes, leading below me, above me and to my other classmates.”

Wahila said she holds high expectations for the upperclassmen in their new leadership roles, but also that if there are any bumps in the road ahead, she will help them push through.

“We expect all of them to lead and make sure that this team is headed in a positive direction,” Wahila said. “If we do have failure, it’s their job as leaders and ours as coaches to make sure we’re failing forward. I fully expect our senior class to be strong leaders and lead authentically and I think they will receive great help from the junior class as well, leading on and off the field.”

Heading into the season, Descalso, like Wahila, said it is important to make sure the veterans on the team are helping the younger players feel welcome, sharpening the strong team chemistry they have established in seasons past.

“Bringing in the [first-year students] and sophomores and making them feel like they are supported by the team will help the team feel its strongest,” Descalso said. “With lots of team bonding and reminding ourselves that our bond on and off the field is going to help us in the postseason, our heart as a whole team is what really separates us from other teams, kind of reminding us about that trait.”

Going into her senior season, Clough said she is looking to give her all this season for a championship, while also not worrying too much and enjoying the ride.

“Personally, especially senior year, I just want to play field hockey with my friends,” Clough said. “The team goal would be to win the Liberty League championship, but on a personal level, I love this team so much that I just want to leave it all out there and have a good time.”

Hungry for another postseason run, the team opens its 2023 season at home against the Kean University Cougars at 5 p.m. Sept. 1 at Higgins Stadium.