When the 2024 season opened, the No. 23 Ithaca College field hockey team wasted no time setting the standard.
For the first time in program history, the Bombers upset the No. 12 Kean University Cougars in a 4–0 victory Aug. 30. It is a high the team plans on riding deep into November.
“[Kean] went to the Final Four last year,” senior striker Juliana Valli said. “We love a challenge, I love a challenge, the team wants a challenge. It’s what we need as a team to be successful. We can compete against these teams because we are a hard team to play against as well.
In 2023, the Bombers fell to the Cougars 3–0. Despite the loss, the team went on to earn its first NCAA playoff berth since 2000 and 17th of all time before falling in the second round to then-No. 4 Johns Hopkins University. The South Hill squad closed out the year with a 15–7 record.
This year, head coach Kaitlyn Wahila said the Bombers are using their strength of schedule to their advantage.
“I think we put together a really strong schedule and I do believe that’s what earned us a bid into the NCAA tournament last year,” Wahila said. “To replicate that this season is so valuable. With every regular season game we have, we’re going to hope that we set ourselves up to be able to compete in postseason play.”
The team has three more ranked opponents on its 2024 schedule — including No. 24 William Smith College, who bested the Bombers 1–0 in the 2023 Liberty League Championship. Junior striker Brenna Schoenfeld, who notched her first goal of the season against Kean, said the Liberty League’s caliber is something she looks forward to each year.
“I always love a good Liberty League competition,” Schoenfeld said. “They always make things exciting; you never know what can happen. William Smith is always a great game, but never easy. I love to compete — I don’t like an easy game.”
In 2023, Schoenfeld was a valuable playmaker in the arc. She played in all 22 games and tallied four goals and three assists. Valli was also a force to be reckoned with, leading the team in goals with nine while also notching two assists last season.
As she settles into her final year in Bomber threads, Valli said it is the trust in her teammates that makes her so confident.
“I thought I would feel an overwhelming sort of stress, but I kind of feel serene,” Valli said. “I think I’m just putting a lot of trust in my abilities and who I am and my other teammates as well, especially our senior class. Knowing I have them by my side for the last time is causing me a sense of calmness. I know I have my girls with me.”
The Bombers are entering the 2024 season with an experienced group of seniors at the helm, three of whom — striker Natalie Descalso, midfielder Meara Bury and defender Bella McCollister — were named to NFHCA All-Region teams. McCollister also earned NFHCA All-American second team honors.
Despite the team’s seasoned talent and hot start, Wahila said it is still important that her athletes take the 2024 season day by day.
“We’re going to be very process oriented,” Wahila said. “We’re going to be very one day at a time focused. We’re not looking at Nov. 1, we are looking at what we can do at practice tomorrow to make sure that we set a really positive, great tone so that our student athletes can show up to practice every single day with a great attitude, great effort and be excited to play.”
The brick-by-brick mindset is not only promoted by Wahila and her coaching staff. It is also instilled by her athletes from the bottom-up.
“Sometimes I even take it hour by hour,” Schoenfeld said. “The success last year was awesome, but sometimes I just need to take a step back. Yes, that was great, but that was last year and now we have a whole new season. It’s a whole new year, a whole new season and we need to keep building. If we keep working hard, good things will happen.”
As of their Sept. 1 game against St. John Fisher University, the Bombers currently tout an undefeated 2–0 record. Their next competition will be the Misericordia University Cougars, where the Bombers will look to bolster their early success at 7 p.m. Sept. 4. at Higgins Stadium.
On Aug. 29, the Bombers were named at the top of the Liberty League preseason poll. It is a status they hope to solidify on the journey to the team’s first conference title in program history.
“We’re just a really motivated group of girls,” Valli said. “That’s all I could say. These girls want it. We want more and I know we’re going to get more because we have that attitude, we have that drive. When we come together, we have a level of confidence that’s unmatched. I think that’s going to help us strive and become as successful as possible.”
