SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – The second-seeded Union College field hockey team earned its first postseason victory since 1988 and advanced to the first Liberty League championship game in program history with a thrilling 2-1 win over third-seeded Ithaca College on a windy and cool Friday afternoon at Frank Bailey Field at Bertagna-Class of 1985 Stadium.
 
The first conference tournament win in program history advances Union (13-7) to the conference championship game for the first time, where the Garnet Chargers will face off with top-seeded Vassar College on Sunday at 2 p.m. in Poughkeepsie.
 
First-years Lily Durivage and Katelyn Birnbaum scored the goals and junior Maddie Greco added assists on both tallies for the Garnet Chargers, who jumped out to a 2-0 lead midway through the third period.
 
Union came out strong to start the game, putting three shots on goal in the opening four minutes. After a pair of shots were stopped by keeper Maeve Clark, Durivage took a penalty corner insert from Greco and fired a shot through traffic into the near side of the net for her fourth goal of the season.
 
Durivage's goal was the last shot of the period for Union, with Ithaca (12-7) taking the final three attempts on goal; however, two saves by senior Sophie Brady kept the home team in front. The Bombers outshot Union by a 3-1 margin in the second stanza, but one save from Brady and a key defensive save by junior Amelia Stevens late in the frame allowed Union to take its one-goal lead into the half.
 
The Garnet Chargers earned a key insurance goal in the 36th minute, when Greco came down the left side of the field and fired a beautiful pass to Birnbaum at the back post for the first-year's fifth tally of her rookie season. Birnbaum's shot was the only one of a defensive-minded third period, as Union locked down defensively to take a two-goal edge into the fourth.
 
Despite having to fend off a pair of player-down situations in the fourth, Union managed to keep Ithaca from taking a shot for the first 11-plus minutes. The Bombers managed to get one past Brady on a penalty corner goal by Payton Yahner with 3:06 remaining, but Union kept the ball in the offensive end for much of the final three minutes to run out the clock.
 
Ithaca finished the game with a 9-7 edge in shots and a 11-4 advantage in penalty corners, but four saves from Brady and one defensive save from Stevens helped the Garnet Chargers pull off the victory and keep their season alive.