ITHACA, N.Y. – The 12^th-ranked Ithaca College women's lacrosse team dropped a heartbreaker on Wednesday evening when it welcomed No. 11 Hamilton to Higgins Stadium for the final non-conference contest of the season. In a back-and-forth contest between two evenly matched sides, the Continentals were able to hold on for a 13-12 victory, snapping the Bombers' winning streak at three games. The loss drops Ithaca's record to 11-3 on the year.
 
Fifth-year senior Ally Runyon paced the Bombers with six points in the game. She fired home five goals to move within three scores shy of the 200-goal milestone for her career. The hat-trick effort was her 12^th contest of the season with three-or-more goals.
 
Seniors Gaby Berne and Morgan Cadwell each tallied a pair of goals, while sophomore Allie Panara also registered two points with one goal and one assist. Sophomore Danika Wagener and freshman Bailey Herr each found the back of the net once for the Bombers.
 
Senior Morgan Racicot dished out three assists in the contest. The effort lifted her into a tie for fourth place on the program's all-time list with 69 career helpers.
 
Defensively, the Bombers were paced by junior Elizabeth Sauer who finished with three caused turnovers. Senior Olivia Oppenheim finished with two caused turnovers, while Herr also posted a forced miscue by Hamilton. Junior Molly Long registered three draw controls and four ground-balls in the highly competitive contest.
 
Senior goalie Kimberly Presuto was the hard-luck loser in the contest. She finished with seven saves and three ground-balls, falling to a 9-3 record in the Ithaca cage on the year.
 
With the Bombers trailing 13-12 late in the contest, Ithaca had a golden opportunity to equalize the game when Hamilton's Jackie Cuddy was whistled for a yellow card with 3:03 remaining in the game. Ithaca looked to have the game equalized two separate times with the player advantage, but shots by Cadwell and Runyon both clanged off the post in quick succession with a minute remaining. The Continentals were able to hold possession over the final minute to drain the remaining clock and hold on for the victory.
 
Ithaca got off to a quick start in the contest. Berne, Wagener and Panara each found the back of the net over a 4:02 span to lift IC to a 3-0 lead 8:49 into the game. The fast start prompted a timeout for the visitors who looked significantly regrouped after the early IC barrage.
 
The two sides traded goals over the middle portion of the half, but the Continentals were able to battle back into the contest to snag an early 8-7 lead at the halftime break. The visitors strung together a 6-2 scoring run over the final 10 minutes to take a one-goal lead into the half.
 
In a tight defensive battle during the second half, Ithaca continued to play neck-and-neck with the nationally-ranked foe. Cadwell tied the game at 8-8 56-seconds into period two, but the visitors responed with two goals over a 1:03 span to take their first multi-goal lead of the afternoon at 10-8 with 27:43 remaining.
 
IC responded with goals from Cadwell and Herr to equalize the game at 10-10 with 25:03 left. Herr's goal came with Ithaca working with a player advantage, as she finished off a quick passing play with Racicot.
 
The Continentals again snagged a two-goal lead with 15:55 left, but the Bombers turned to their senior captain to pull back level. Runyon scored a pair of goals, the second tying the game at 12-12 with 3:53 remaining. However, Hamilton responded with a goal from Darby Philbrick with 3:11 remaining.
 
IC had a pair of glorious chances down the stretch, but luck was not on the Bombers' side. With Ithaca working on a powerplay during the final minutes, Cadwell worked free for an open shooting attempt in the high slot. Her shot rang off the left post, but the rebound caromed right to Runyon. In quick succession, she scooped the ball and fired another low shot that deflected off the right post.
 
Hamilton was able to secure possession off of the ensuing scrum and drain the remaining clock to hold on for the narrow 13-12 win.
 
Ithaca returns to action this weekend when it hits the road for the final regular-season contest at Houghton College. Start time is scheduled for 12:00 p.m.