ITHACA, N.Y. – The 12^th-ranked Ithaca College women's lacrosse team entered Saturday's regular-season finale against Stevens Institute of Technology with a singular focus; securing home-field advantage for the second straight season at next weekend's Empire 8 Tournament. In a battle of conference unbeaten teams it was the Bombers who prevailed, scoring a 13-9 win to cap an 8-0 regular-season mark in E8 play.
 
Ithaca honored seven members of its graduating Class of 2017 in a pre-game ceremony. Once play got underway it was the senior class who paved IC's way to victory, accounting for nine goals and three assists in the victory.
 
While the seniors posted huge efforts, it was sophomore Allie Panara who paced the Bombers offensively. She registered a game-high five points on three goals and two assists. The big effort marked the fourth time over the last five games in which she has tallied five-or-more points.
 
Senior Morgan Racicot and Morgan Cadwell each marked four-point efforts in the win. Racicot finished with four goals, while Cadwell scored once and added three assists. Fifth-year senior Ally Runyon tacked on a hat trick of her own in her 14^th contest with three-or-more goals this season.
 
Senior Gaby Berne and sophomore Maeve Cambria each scored one goal in the win.
 
Defensively, the Bombers were paced by senior Olivia Oppenheim who finished with three caused turnovers and two ground-balls. Junior Elizabeth Sauer added two caused turnovers and one ground-ball. Sophomore Reid Simoncini and freshman Becky Mehorter each finished with one caused turnover and one ground-ball apiece.
 
Junior Kimberly Presuto picked up her 11^th win of the season. She was sharp throughout the contest, finishing with eight saves. She also picked off one pass for a crucial caused turnover down the stretch.
 
The Bombers had a strong opening half in the contest, outscoring the Ducks 5-to-2 in an extremely tactical opening half. Racicot opened the scoring 4:14 into the contest, while Cadwell and Runyon scored back-to-back goals to take a 3-1 lead with 14:32 remaining in the half.
 
After Stevens' Kyra Bednarski pulled the Ducks within a goal with 6:05 left in the opening frame, Panara and Runyon scored a pair of goals to close out the first half ledger. Runyon's second of the afternoon was her 62^nd goal of the season, setting a new program record for a single season. The Bombers had a chance to widen the lead coming into the break, as Panara was fouled hard in the fan causing her to briefly leave the contest. Sophomore Elizabeth Rice came in to take the free-position, but her shot drifted just wide of the left post with under 30-seconds remaining.
 
Berne made the score 6-2 with a rocket into the top corner just 57-seconds into the second half. However, the Ducks did not go down without a fight. Four straight scoring strikes over the course of 4:06 equalized the game at 6-6 with 23:30 remaining.
 
In a second half characterized by scoring runs, Ithaca scored four goals of its own in a span of 2:51 shortly after Stevens quick scoring strike. Racicot scored three times over the stretch to make it 10-6 with 19:28 left in the game.
 
Although the visitors scored three out of the next four goals to cut the deficit within two goals at 11-9 with 10:36 left. Cambria and Panara iced the game with goals 1:34 apart with under four minutes remaining.
 
With the victory, Ithaca will host next weekend's Empire 8 Tournament, which will begin with the semifinal round on Saturday, May 6. Ithaca will play Nazareth in the No. 1 vs. No. 4 at 11:00 a.m.