ITHACA, N.Y.  —The Ithaca College women's lacrosse team remained undefeated in the Empire 8 Conference thanks to Sunday's 18-2 win over Utica College at Higgins Stadium.
Junior
Morgan Racicot scored six goals with one assist, while junior
Gaby Berne and freshman
Danika Wagener each tallied three goals to power the Bombers (11-4, 7-0 Empire 8).
Ithaca sits alone in first place in the Empire 8 with one conference clash remaining, a 1 p.m. Senior Day showdown with No. 20 St. John Fisher College (14-2, 6-1). If the Bombers can knock off the Cardinals, IC will claim the Empire 8 regular-season championship and would host the postseason tournament, May 7-8 at Higgins Stadium.
Senior
Riley Marion scored two goals and handed out two assists, freshman
Allison Panara tallied two goals with one assist, and senior
Ally Lates recorded one goal with one assist for Ithaca, which improved to 5-1 at home in 2016.
Junior
Morgan Cadwell won four draw controls and added one goal, while senior
Mackenzie Robinson and sophomore
Maggie Wise won three draw controls apiece for IC, which won 14 of 23 draw controls against the Pioneers (9-6, 4-3 E8).
Freshman
Julia Silvestri caused three turnovers to go with three groundballs, while sophomore
Elizabeth Sauer scooped up four groundballs in the win.
Junior
Emily Ross made four first-half saves to earn the win and improve to 11-3 while sophomore
Kimberly Presuto made five second-half saves for the Bombers.
In the first half, Racicot scored four goals, Panara scored two goals, and Marion and Lates added one goal apiece.
The Bombers raced out to a 7-0 lead while holding the Pioneers scoreless for the first 22:40. After Wise won the opening draw control, Racicot staked IC to a 1-0 lead when she rifled home a shot just 21 seconds in.
Neither team found the back of the net for the next 10 minutes until Racicot notched her second goal of the game for a 2-0 lead with 18:56 remaining in the opening half.
Cadwell scored on a free-position shot 35 seconds later for a three-goal lead, and Lates extended the lead to 4-0 off a feed from Marion with 11:42 remaining.
Marion and Racicot scored goals 55 seconds apart for a 6-0 lead, and Panara converted a free-position shot 45 seconds later to push the lead to 7-0.
Utica scored with 7:20 remaining in the opening stanza, but the Bombers closed out the half on a 3-0 run and led 10-1 at halftime. Racicot and Panara scored 59 seconds apart, and Wagener added a tally with 12 seconds remaining in the first half.
The Bombers defense clamped down and held the Pioneers scoreless for a stretch of 35:12 spanning both halves while IC outscored Utica 8-1 in the second half to win for the sixth time in seven games.
Ithaca closes out the regular season hosting No. 20 St. John Fisher College at 1 p.m. Saturday on Senior Day.
