Utica, N.Y. – Three Ithaca women's lacrosse players tallied hat tricks to lead the Bombers (5-2, 3-0 Empire 8) by host Utica (4-3, 1-2 Empire 8), 12-4, on Tuesday afternoon.

After opening play in a back-and-forth fashion, Ithaca rattled off eight consecutive scores and held Utica scoreless for over 34 minutes to claim control of the game. The Bombers improved to 3-0 in conference action with their third straight victory.

Sophomore Tracy Rivas (East Meadow/East Meadow), junior Nicole Borisenok (Albany Academy for Girls/Watervliet) and senior Ali DeCirce (Binghamton/Binghamton) each netted hat tricks to lead the Bombers to victory, while sophomore Kim Armbruster (Montville/Boonton, N.J.) and seniors Katie Hurley (Honeoye Falls-Lima/Honeoye Falls) and Rachel Maley (Newtown/Sandy Hook, Conn.) added one goal apiece. Six players dished out assists with senior Abby Peterson (Mount Mansfield Union/Underhill, Vt.) recording team-bests of five ground balls and four caused turnovers.

DeCirce opened all scoring 30 seconds into the game with a free position goal before Borisenok used a feed from Hurley to go up 2-0 just 1:45 into play. Utica came alive and knotted the game at 2-2 at 18:33, but the Bombers netted three of four goals to close out the half with a 5-3 Ithaca advantage.

Armbruster scored on a free-position opportunity at 14:25 before Rivas capitalized on an Emily Finn (Bishop-Brady/Concord, N.H.) assist to regain the two goal advantage, 4-2, at the 14-minute mark. The Pioneers got on the board nine minutes later, but it was a Borisenok score with 21 seconds lingering on the clock that closed out the half.

The second stint, in which the Bombers allowed the host squad just one goal, opened with Rivas finding the crosse of DeCirce at 26:46 before Hurley backed it with an unassisted goal one minute later. Sophomore Michelle Avery (Brien McMahon/Norwalk, Conn.) assisted Borisenok at 18:33 and Rivas followed with a pair of her own scores to take a 10-3 lead at 6:36.

DeCirce notched a free position goal at 4:54 and junior Siobhan Sullivan (Franklin/Franklin, Mass.) won the ensuing draw control which ultimately led to sophomore Kaitlyn Hoffay (Ithaca/Ithaca) finding Maley for the Bombers' final goal of the game at 4:30. The Pioneers finalized all scoring at 12-4 with a last minute goal.

Sophomore Jess Worthman (Hauppauge/Commack) improved to 5-2 on the season, making one stop in goal for the Bombers.

Ithaca outshot Utica, 34-8, scooped up 24 ground balls to the Pioneers' 17 and held a 12-6 advantage on draw controls.

The Bombers will next travel to Stevens Institute of Technology for a noon game on Saturday, April 9.

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