ITHACA, N.Y.--The Bombers, who came into the season as the coaches' pick to win the Empire 8, opened their conference schedule with an 18-7 win over Elmira (1-5, 0-1 Empire 8) Wednesday afternoon. Ithaca (4-2, 1-0 Empire 8) got a career-high six goals from junior Kylie McClure (Upper Arlington/Columbus, Ohio), with sophomore Katie Hurley (Honeoye Falls-Lima/Honeoye Falls) adding five.

The Bombers opened the game with five unanswered goals in the first five minutes of play, with McClure and senior Becky Bedard (East Longmeadow/East Longmeadow, Mass.) each netting a pair of goals. After an Elmira score cut the lead to 5-1, Ithaca closed the half on a 10-1 run that gave them a 15-2 lead entering halftime. Hurley scored all five her goals in the first half, with McClure notching five of her six.

Freshman Nicole Borisenok (Albany Academy for Girls/Watervliet) joined Bedard, Hurley and McClure as a multiple-goal scorer. She tallied a pair of goals, adding two assists. Bedard led all players with three assists, and tied McClure with six points. She has recorded a team-high 16 assists on the season, and extended her school-record career total to 97.

All three Bomber goalies saw time against the Soaring Eagles, with junior Courtney Dowell (Massapequa/Massapequa) picking up the win after she held Elmira to just a pair of goals in her 30 minutes of play. She made five saves. Freshman Leah Page (Wilson/Sinking Spring, Pa.) also recorded five saves. Senior# Heidi Puccio# (W. Tresper Clarke/Westbury) picked up a save and a ground ball.

Sophomore Abby Peterson (Mt. Mansfield Union/Underhill, Vt.) led the Bombers with three ground ball pickups. Sophomore Emily Finn (Bishop Brady/Concord, N.H.) led all players with four draw controls.

Ithaca continues Empire 8 play over the weekend, taking on 13th-ranked Stevens Saturday and Utica Sunday.

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