NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The nationally-ranked Ithaca College women's lacrosse team dropped its first contest of the season in the final day of its spring break trip to Nashville, Tenn., falling to Dickinson 9-7. The loss drops the Bombers record to 4-1 on the year.
 
Coming off a thrilling comeback in an 11-10 victory over second-ranked Trinity (Conn.) earlier in the week, IC looked to cap its trip south on a high-note against a scrappy Dickinson squad. Unfortunately, the Bombers struggled to get their potent offense untracked throughout the day, as the Red Devils held Ithaca to a season-low seven goals. Ithaca never led in the contest.
 
Senior attacker Morgan Racicot paced IC with three points on two goals and an assist. Senior midfielder Gaby Berne netted multiple goals for the first time this season, tallying twice in the second half. Senior midfielder Morgan Cadwell also scored twice for IC.
 
Freshman Bailey Herr chipped in a goal for Ithaca, extending her goal-scoring streak to five straight games to begin her collegiate career. Sophomore Maeve Cambria added an assist to record her first point of the season.
 
Junior Kimberly Presuto posted a solid effort in relief of senior Emily Ross. Presuto marked eight saves over the final 55 minutes to keep IC within striking distance throughout. The eight stops were a season high for the third-year netminder.
 
The Red Devils got off to a scorching start in the contest, scoring three times in the opening five minutes to shell-shock the Bombers during the early going. Sam Marmo opened the scoring for Dickinson 3:05 into the game, while Maddy Siebold scored consecutive goals just 21-seconds apart.
 
Ithaca found its footing over the ensuing 15-minute stretch to bounce back into the contest. Herr got IC on the board with 21:57 left in the half. With IC working on a free-position after Racicot was fouled by Dickinson goalkeeper Tara Cuddihy, Ithaca capitalized with the empty net. Racicot fired a pass to Herr on the opposite side of the fan, with the freshman depositing a shot into the vacant cage.
 
Racicot pulled IC within one goal at 3-2 with 18:07 remaining, making an excellent run at across the fan, before whipping a low shot into the bottom left corner of the cage. The IC defense also began to lock down on the Red Devils, forcing several of their 14 caused turnovers.
 
Dickinson punched back with two goals in succession to reestablish the three-goal lead with 7:42 to play. Cadwell took the scoring upon herself down the final stretch of the first half, scoring her two goals to shave the deficit to 6-4 at the break.
 
Berne again pulled the Bombers within one goal 3:45 into the second half. Drawing a free-position opportunity she whipped a shot into the top left corner to make the score 6-5. But that was as close as IC came to equalizing the game.
 
Although Ithaca had litany of scoring opportunities in the second half, Dickinson goaltender Tara Cuddihy repeatedly repelled IC with point-blank saves. She finished with 16 stops in the contest.
 
Berne capped off the scoring for Ithaca with 7:19 remaining. Cambria picked out Berne with a precision pass into traffic as the latter was streaking towards net. In the blink of an eye, the senior midfielder made a quick catch and shoot to net her second of the game. However, Cuddihy stymied the Bombers' comeback bid with three saves and a caused turnover in the waning minutes.
 
Ithaca outshot Dickinson 30-to-19 in the contest, while it held a 12-to-6 advantage in draw controls. The Bombers also went 15-for-16 in clear attempts and held a 22-to-20 advantage in ground-balls.
 
Although senior attacker Ally Runyon was held off the scoresheet for the first time this season, she finished with a game-high four caused turnovers. Senior midfielder Olivia Oppenheim finished with two caused turnovers and one ground-ball.
 
Defensively, junior Molly Long finished with three caused turnovers and three ground-balls. Senior Elizabeth Sauer forced one Dickinson miscue, while sophomore Reid Simoncini also caused a turnover. Freshman Becky Mehorter added a pair of ground-balls.
 
Ithaca returns to action this Wednesday, March 22, with a 7:00 p.m. contest against nationally-ranked SUNY Cortland at Higgins Stadium.