Women's Lacrosse | 4/1/2016 11:11:00 AM
ITHACA, N.Y. — When it comes to her lacrosse career, Ithaca College senior
Riley Marion is more concerned with team goals than her own individual stats.
Sure, Marion looks forward to finding the back of the net after making one of her many moves towards the goal, but more important for Marion than putting up eye-popping numbers is whether her Bombers walked off the field victorious or not.
Marion, a two-time All-Empire 8 conference selection as an attacker/midfielder, has appeared in 60 career games. She has enjoyed plenty of team success during her time at IC, as the Bombers have advanced into three straight conference championship games.
But during a recent 22-1 home win over Elmira on the turf field at Higgins Stadium, Marion etched her name into the Ithaca College record books, becoming the latest student-athlete to score 100 career goals.
Marion's fourth goal of the first half, off a feed from junior
Morgan Racicot with 18:24 remaining, gave Marion 100 goals for her decorated IC career and helped vault the Bombers (5-3, 2-0 Empire 8) to a win in their conference opener.
Marion, who set a career-high for points (eight) and goals (seven) in the win against Elmira, had no idea she had joined the 100-goal club at Ithaca.
"I had no idea (about the milestone) and neither did the team. Scoring 100 goals is pretty cool, but things like the Stevens win (a 14-13 come-from-behind victory) are really much more important to me," said Marion, who has helped Ithaca post a 40-23 record during her Ithaca career.
"I hadn't thought much about (scoring) 100 goals. I'm a Patriots fan from Massachusetts and coach (Bill) Belichick always says to focus on the next game and on getting better. The individual things will take care of themselves, and that has always seemed like a good plan."
Marion garnered national publicity when she was selected as the co-Division III Player of the Week by the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches' Association (IWLCA) following a week where she recorded 14 points on 12 goals with two assists in wins over Elmira and Stevens.
She also was honored by the Empire 8 as its Player of the Week after eclipsing 100 career goals. During the win over Stevens, Ithaca trailed 10-7 in the second half, but closed out the game on a 7-3 run to earn its fourth straight win.
Marion scored back-to-back goals to put IC up 11-10, and the Bombers emerged victorious after junior
Morgan Cadwell's goal with 56 seconds remaining.
For Marion, the chance to celebrate a huge conference victory on the road with her teammates, who she refers to as her best friends, is her favorite part of playing lacrosse.
"A conference win against a tough opponent on the road gives the whole team confidence," said Marion, a physical therapy major from Dartmouth, Mass.
"My teammates mean everything to me, and my best friends are my teammates. That was the best feeling, running out the clock at Stevens. It was an up and down, emotional game that took a total team effort for 60 minutes, and to have the horn blow and get to run and celebrate with my teammates, that is the best feeling."
Marion started playing lacrosse in the seventh grade, following in the footsteps of two of her cousins, Cara and Maggie Schoening.
Soon after she first picked up a lacrosse stick, it became her favorite sport. Marion said she experienced plenty of success while playing for Dartmouth High School, but despite her successes, it was a big adjustment going from high school to collegiate lacrosse.
It took time for Marion to adjust to the speed, physicality, and sophistication of the college game, but with lots of hard work and practice time, Marion has been able to elevate her game.
After appearing in 15 games as a freshman, scoring 11 points on seven goals with four assists, Marion broke through for 49 points (40 goals with nine assists) to earn honorable mention all-conference honors from the Empire 8.
But it was during her junior season that Marion completed her transformation into a potent scorer. She was named to the Empire 8 second-team all-conference after scoring 55 points on 38 goals with 17 assists, but she also led the team in draw controls (50) and caused turnovers (18).
So far in eight games in 2016, Marion leads the team in goals (25) and points (28) while helping the Bombers win four of their last five games. She ranks fifth in the Empire 8 in goals scored.
Heading into Saturday's 12 p.m. Empire 8 showdown at Nazareth College, Marion currently has 141 career points on 110 goals with 33 assists. But more than any individual accomplishment, Marion has her sights set on winning an Empire 8 championship and playing in the annual NCAA Division III tournament.
"This is ultimately a team game. I owe a great deal to my teammates, because something possession-related has to happen before a shot is taken," said Marion, who has embraced her role as a leader on the team and enjoys helping freshman make the transition from the high school game to college.
"My teammates and I owe a lot to (head coach)
Karrie Moore and (assistant coach)
Erin Growney for putting us in a position to succeed. We've been through this before and we don't want to go through that (not winning an Empire 8 championship) again. We all have that goal in mind of where we want to go. We want to win E8s and go as far as we can go in the NCAA tournament."
