Box Score HOBOKEN, N.J. (September 22, 2012) – The Stevens Institute of Technology field hockey team improved to 3-0 in the Empire 8 and 5-3 overall with a thrilling 4-3 win over Ithaca College Saturday evening at the De Baun Athletic Complex. Junior midfielder Chelsea Cresci (Wilmington, Del.) and junior forward Marguerite Chavez (Oceanport, N.J.) each totaled three points for the Ducks.
 
Despite dominating the first half on the stat sheet and in terms of field position and possession, Stevens went into the intermission with a one-goal lead. The Ducks jumped on top 1-0 at the 11:26 mark when Cresci was able to put home her own rebound. It was her second score of the season.
 
The lead moved to 2-0 when junior back Grace Ridge (Moorestown, N.J.) scored her second of the year. Senior Mary Nikish (Pittsford, N.Y.) fed ridge with a perfect pass on a penalty corner and the junior fired a missile from the top-right of the circle into the lower-left corner of the goal.
 
The Bombers sliced the lead in half with 43 seconds left when a scrum in front resulted in a score. Freshman Katelyn Gualtieri  (Fayetteville, N.Y.) eventually received a pass from junior Lindsay Flanagan (Cicero, N.Y.) tapping it on the rig corner of the cage.
 
Stevens nearly scored several other times with shots from Chavez and Ridge missing by inches on four separate occasions.
 
Ithaca came out strong in the second half, nearly tying the game 7:20 in, but senior back Samantha Weisman (Fairfax, Va.) was able to step in front of a 2-on-1 break, keeping Stevens in the lead for the moment.
 
The Bombers (4-4 overall, 1-1 Empire 8) did pull even in the 47th minute when senior forward Julia Conroy (Westfield, N.J.) tapped in a pass from junior midfielder Andrea Pace (Monkton, Md.) after a corner and scrum in front of the cage.
 
The Bombers looked primed to take the lead on several occasions but Stevens goalie Kaitlin McClymont (Corpus Christi, Texas) made multiple diving stops to keep the game deadlocked at two. Moments after a McClymont save of a Flanagan attempt, the Ducks looked to have the lead when Ithaca's goalie, senior Kelly Singleton (Rochester, N.Y.), dove to her left, denying Ridge her second goal of the game.
 
Chavez, who is tied for the league-lead in goals with eight, gave the Ducks the lead for good in the 59^th minute thanks in large part to a spectacular play from Cresci. The junior midfielder angled into the right side of the circle, holding off an Ithaca defender all the way to the endline before firing a cross in front at the last possible second to Chavez who was positioned perfectly for the score.
 
Just 54 seconds after getting the lead, the Ducks made it a 4-2 game when Chavez assisted freshman midfielder Dailyn Brook's (Cherry Hill, N.J.) sixth of the year, but the Bombers were not done and continued to fight back.
 
After another diving denial by McClymont, the Stevens keeper fell on the ball giving Ithaca a penalty stroke. The Bombers were unable to convert and the score held at 4-2 with 4:17 left. With 1:20 left, McClymont again made a diving save but covered the ball to give Ithaca another stroke.  This time Ithaca converted to get within one goal (4-3), but Stevens was able to do enough to hold on for a thrilling win – its third-straight one-goal win in as many outings.
 
McClymont finished with seven saves. Singleton made 11 stops for Ithaca. The Ducks had a 25-15 edge in shots and each team took 14 penalty corners.
 
Chavez, Cresci, Brook and Ridge had the Stevens goals with Nikish, Cresci and Chavez notching assists.
 
Stevens is now 3-0 in conference play, a half-game ahead of Hartwick College (2-0) and one game ahead of St. John Fisher College (2-1). The Ducks will return to action Sunday in Alexandria, Va. against Christopher Newport University in a non-conference showdown. CNU is the 13th-ranked team in the nation.