GETTYSBURG, Pa. – The Gettysburg College women's lacrosse team will be hitting the road for its next game date against No. 19 Ithaca College, but it won't be just any regular venue the top-ranked Bullets will be visiting. The two teams will battle on Tierney Field in the shadow of the US Lacrosse headquarters in Sparks, Md., this Thursday at 3 p.m.
 
Gettysburg (4-0) visits the home of US Lacrosse, which opened its doors less than three years ago, looking to remain unbeaten this spring. The two-time defending national champions will be able to visit the display recognizing their latest NCAA title from last spring not to mention the Hall of Fame plaque of Associate Coach Barb Jordan, who was inducted in 2004 following a stellar collegiate career at Penn State University in the 1980s.  
 
"We are excited about the opportunity to compete at the US Lacrosse National Training Center," said Head Coach Carol Cantele '83. "We have been there as a team to watch other games and it has a great atmosphere. Being able to tour the Lacrosse Hall of Fame to see our own Barb Jordan and to see our National Champion display is an added bonus."
 
It won't be a sight-seeing adventure for long on Thursday with a tough test set before the Bullets. Ithaca (2-1) will be playing its third consecutive ranked opponent and the Bombers are coming off a 12-10 win over No. 20 University of Scranton this past Sunday. Ithaca has appeared in the NCAA Division III playoffs 11 times, most recently in 2017 when it beat Wesleyan University in the first round before falling to Salisbury University.
 
With roughly 250 miles separating the two schools, the all-time series has been limited to just five meetings. The Bombers won the first two in 1998 and 2002, while the Bullets won three in a row from 2013-15. Each of those previous three meetings took place on neutral ground at the National Training Center in Clermont, Fla.
 
"We had a great series with Ithaca several years ago when we would meet in Florida," noted Cantele, who ranks third among all NCAA women's coaches all-time with 427 victories. "It is always a competitive game and this year should not be different.  Ithaca is a well-coached squad with many talented players.  It should be a great game."
 
The last time the two teams met in 2015, Gettysburg came in as the top team in the country and walked away with a 12-6 victory.
 
For a handful of Gettysburg players, the game is a return to their home state and the communities they played in during high school.
 
"I am pretty excited to be playing in an area where I played in high school," said senior Brooke Holechek (Reisterstown, Md./Notre Dame Prep), whose high school, Notre Dame Preparatory School, is 17 minutes south of Sparks. "More specifically it is a privilege to be able to play at such an awesome venue such as the National Training Center. Not many people get this opportunity so I know we are going to be taking full advantage of it."
 
Gettysburg has cemented its status as one of the top programs in Division III. Since 2000, the Bullets have won three national titles, appeared in the NCAA playoffs 18 times, and won 11 Centennial Conference titles. Including the preseason, the team has been situated atop all four of the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) polls  this spring. Gettysburg has beaten two top-20 teams, including an 11-9 victory over No. 3 Washington and Lee University last Saturday.
 
Don't expect Gettysburg to walk onto Tierney Field with any of that successful baggage though. The Bullets keep their eyes facing forward, searching for the next challenge.
 
"In order to prepare for Ithaca we are first and foremost going to worry about ourselves," said Holechek. "In practice, we are going to continue to strengthen our skills and work on all the little things that push us to perform at our optimal capacity. If we keep focused and stay hungry I am confident that we will be ready for Thursday's game against Ithaca."
 
Thursday's game will feature live video and live statistics at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/gettysburg/.
 
For more information on the headquarters of US Lacrosse and Tierney Field, please visit https://www.uslacrosse.org/about-us-lacrosse/headquarters.