Women's Lacrosse | 3/4/2016 1:00:00 PM

ITHACA, N.Y. — Change is everywhere for the 2016 version of the Ithaca College women's lacrosse team.

The Bombers, who have established themselves as a dominant force with six straight appearances in the Empire 8 championship game, have a new head coach as Karrie Moore takes over the reins following a successful seven-year stint as assistant coach at nearby Cornell University.

Ithaca will also be utilizing a new, more aggressive defensive style of play meant to best utilize the talented student-athletes, which include stellar defenders in sophomore all-conference selection Molly Long, and senior Erika Johnson.

On offense, the Bombers boast talent at attack and midfield, led by senior attacker Riley Marion (38 goals, 55 points), and junior midfielder Morgan Cadwell (31 goals, 41 points). Ithaca will look to employ a wide-open style of offense where any number of student-athletes can put the ball in the back of the cage.

With five All-Empire 8 student-athletes returning to a team that expects to contend for the Empire 8 championship, the Bombers have high hopes entering the 2016 season, which kicks off at 1 p.m. Saturday when Ithaca welcomes St. Lawrence University to Higgins Stadium in the season and home opener.

"I think we're going to have a strong defense, and an Empire 8 championship is definitely within our grasp," said Johnson, a co-captain who started all 19 games in 2015 with 23 groundballs and 16 caused turnovers in her third season on the varsity.

"When we got together before the season coach Moore was asking us about our goals, and we said we want to win an Empire 8 championship and get through some rounds of the NCAA tournament and we ended it there. She said the biggest goal is winning the national championship, and that we have the talent to do this, and her even telling us that got us going. That's what we want and we want to get there."

Ithaca finished its 2015 campaign with a record of 11-8 (6-2 in the Empire 8), but fell to St. John Fisher in the Empire 8 championship game. Ithaca won the conference title in 2008 and has made it to the conference championship in six straight years. The team has also made five appearances in the NCAA tournament since 2001.



Senior attack Ally Runyon earned third-team All-American honors and first-team All-Empire 8 honors after scoring 68 points on 55 goals and 13 assists. Marion was named second-team All-Conference, as was Cadwell, Long, and junior goalie Emily Ross.

Besides Marion and Cadwell, junior attackers Olivia Oppenheim and Morgan Racicot combined for 30 points (18 goals, 12 assists) return to provide more depth and scoring power for the Bombers.

Marion said the offense has been clicking in practice and during the team's home scrimmage against Brockport (Feb. 20).

"The offense has more creativity which makes everyone a threat (to score)," said Marion, who earned second-team All-Empire 8 honors and was named to the All-Tournament team in 2015, her third season on the varsity.

"This year we have a basic setup for a play, and there are just so many different options we can run off of it. It's more of a framework than a play and that makes us a lot more dynamic and a bigger threat on offense because everyone can be a threat."

While the offense will be without seven of its top 11 scorers from last year's team that averaged 12.16 goals per game (third-most in the conference), Ithaca features a talented stable of freshmen, including attacker Danika Wagener, midfielders Erin McGee, Julia Silvestri, and Allison Panara, and defender Reid Simoncini.

"It will be a big adjustment offensively because we only have two returners who started — myself and Morgan Cadwell — so getting those younger players and freshmen on the same page and getting good chemistry with everyone will be key," said Marion, who has scored 85 goals with 30 assists for 115 points in her career.

"We're just trying to click and find a good, cohesive attack, and we're doing that now. We're definitely making a lot of headway. There's a lot of competition for playing time, and competition is a good thing. It keeps you on your toes and you can never get comfortable, which is good because you always want to get better."

Marion led the team in draw control wins (50), while Cadwell won 14 and Johnson won 13. Cadwell and Panara are expected to be Ithaca's top two draw control specialists this year.

The midfield will consist of Marion, Cadwell, seniors Ally Lates and Mackenzie Robinson, as well as juniors Gaby Berne and Taylor Brady, and freshmen McGee, Panara, and Silvestri.

The defense will feature Johnson, Long, and sophomores Elizabeth Sauer and Maggie Wise. Ithaca boasted the second-stingiest defense in the Empire 8 in 2015, allowing only 8.22 goals per game.

In goal, it is an open competition between Ross and sophomore Kimberly Presuto. Ross allowed 8.95 goals per game in making 15 appearances (14 starts) last year, while Presuto had a .495 saves percentage and allowed 9.06 goals per game in 10 games (four starts).

Ithaca is among schools receiving votes in the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches' Association (IWLCA) poll. Johnson and Runyon will serve as co-captains.

"I've seen a lot of improvement just from the beginning of the preseason. I've seen a huge progression on this team and it's been really cool to watch us grow," Runyon said. "I'm excited for our season to start. It has been a really positive atmosphere and a learning-filled atmosphere where they (our coaches) want us to ask questions and they want us to learn. It's really exciting and fun to be a part of."

The Bombers' schedule features five games against nationally-ranked competition. After opening with St. Lawrence, Ithaca travels to defending national champion and preseason No. 1 Cortland at 4 p.m. Tuesday.

The Bombers will also travel to No. 3 Franklin & Marshall (March 12) and No. 13 Hamilton (April 19) while hosting No. 18 Geneseo (March 30) and No. 19 St. John Fisher (April 30).

Click here to view the Bombers' 2016 schedule.