NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The nationally-ranked Ithaca College women's lacrosse team notched a signature victory on Tuesday afternoon, as it opened its spring break trip with an 11-10 victory over No. 2 Trinity (Conn.) in Nashville, Tenn. The win improves the Bombers' record to 4-0 on the year, while it figures to be a huge non-conference resume booster come NCAA Tournament time.
 
The Bombers were able to exact some revenge on the Bantams on Tuesday, as it was Trinity that bounced Ithaca in the second round of the NCAA Tournament last season. The win was Ithaca's first win over a Top-10 nationally-ranked foe since IC bested No. 7 Hamilton in a 9-8 win on April 21, 2015. It is Ithaca's highest-ranked win over a nationally-ranked opponent in at least the last 12 seasons.
 
Trailing by as many as six goals two separate times during the contest, the Bombers, who were ranked 17^th in the latest IWLCA poll and ninth in the most recent U.S. Lacrosse Magazine rankings, battled back in a furious second-half rally. IC outscored the Bantams 7-to-2 in the final 30 minutes to complete a thrilling comeback over the talented NESCAC outfit.
 
Fifth-year senior attacker Ally Runyon, senior attacker Morgan Racicot and sophomore attacker Allison Panara posted hat-trick efforts to spark the Ithaca rally. Runyon scorched the Bantams for a game-high four goals to bring her total to 21 on the season. Racicot finished with three scoring tallies, while Panara amassed four points on a three goals and one assist. Freshman attacker Baylie Herr added a lone goal to round out the scoring for IC.
 
Junior goalie Kimberly Presuto picked up her second win of the season to move to 2-0 on the year. She finished with five saves in 43:23 of action. Senior Emily Ross got the start, making one stop in 16:37 of play.
 
Ithaca got off to a good start in the contest, as Runyon netted a free-position goal to put IC up 1-0 just 1:08 into the game. However, Trinity responded with a seven-goal scoring run over the next 21:28 of game play to take a 7-1 lead. The Bantams' Abby McInerney fired home three of Trinity's goals, while Ashley Turnbull netted a pair with the second lifting the visitors to the 7-1 advantage with 7:24 to go.
 
Panara finally snapped IC's scoreless drought with a free-position tally of her own, but Trinity's Kiley Coffey responded with a goal just 23 seconds later to widen the gap to 8-2. The Bombers' took over the momentum from there, showing confidence and resilience in battling back.
 
Racicot closed out the scoring in the half with a pair of free-position goals to make the deficit 8-4 going into the break. The Bombers finished with seven total free-position scores in the contest. The senior went top shelf both times to beat Trinity's net-minder, Zoe Ferguson, who finished with 12 stops in the game.
 
Ithaca kept the momentum going forward coming out of the break, scoring twice in the first 3:37 of the second half to shave the margin to just a pair of goals. Panara opened the second-half scoring with her second of the game, whipping a low shot past Ferguson to make the score 8-5. She notched her hat trick 2:47 later on a free-position.
 
Although Trinity briefly widened the gap back to three goals, IC responded with a five-goal scoring run to take back the lead. Runyon scored a pair of free-position goals, while Racicot also fired home her third of the contest to tie the tilt at 9-9 with 11:07 left.
 
Herr gave Ithaca its first lead since the opening minutes of the first half when she finished off an excellent run with a goal into the top left corner of the net to make the score 10-9 with 9:10 left. Ithaca would never trail again. Runyon and Panara hooked up on an excellent passing play with the latter picking out a perfect pass to Runyon who streaked right down the slot of the Trinity defense. The scoring tally was her fourth of the game, upping Ithaca's lead to 11-9 with 8:06 to go.
 
The IC defense clamped down from there to hold off the Bantams. Ithaca held Trinity to just two goals total over the final 35:59 of game action and just one score in the last 20:27 to shut down one of the nation's most prolific attacks.
 
Reid Simoncini, Elizabeth Sauer, and Runyon each finished with two caused turnovers. Olivia Oppenheim and Becky Mehorter each added forced miscues on the Bantams, as IC caused 11 turnovers in the game. The defensive effort was fantastic down the stretch, as Ithaca repeatedly turned away the Trinity attack despite the Bantams holding a 17-to-6 advantage in clear attempts in the game.
 
Ithaca returns to action this Saturday, when it concludes its spring trip against Dickinson at 12:00 p.m. EST. The Bombers will look to improve to 5-0 for the first time since the 2007 campaign.