ITHACA, N.Y. - The No. 17 Ithaca College women's lacrosse team is set to make its first-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament Third Round on Saturday when it clashes with No. 9 Salisbury University in a Regional Round Semifinal contest at Gettysburg College. Opening draw at Clark Field is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.

Regional Round Game Info
Saturday, May 20, 2017
Regional Semifinals (Round of 16)
Game 1: 
#7 Gettysburg (17-3) vs. Rhodes (19-0) - 11:00 a.m.
Clark Field | Gettysburg, Pa.

Game 2:
#9 Salisbury (15-5) vs. #17 Ithaca (14-4) - 2:30 p.m.
Clark Field | Gettysburg, Pa.

Sunday, May 21, 2017
Regional Finals (Round of 8)
Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2
Clark Field | Gettysburg, Pa.

Game Coverage
Live Stats | Live Video | Regional Portal | Twitter  

Dynamic Duo
IC made the double-dip in the Empire 8 major awards this past season, as senior attacker Ally Runyon and junior goalie Kimberly Presuto took home Player of the Year and Goalie of the Year, respectively. It was just the second time in program history that Ithaca swept both major awards in the same season, joining the 2012 duo of Tracy Rivas and Jess Worthman. The Bombers are the only program in the conference to accomplish the feat since the league began awarding Goalie of the Year following the 2007 season.

Eight is Great
Ithaca tied for the most All-Conference honorees in the Empire 8 this season. The Bombers placed eight members on the All-Conference teams, equaling Nazareth who also had eight honorees. Ithaca paced the conference with four First Team selections.

Rolling in the All-Region Honors
Ithaca set a new program record when the IWLCA announced its list of All-Region honorees this past week. The Bombers placed five members on All-Empire Region teams, which included a pair of First Team selections in Runyon and Long. The total of five bested the program's previous best of four, which it has accumulated as recently as last season.

Country's Best
It has been a long time since Ithaca has had players getting recognized at the national level. The Bombers had two players make IWLCA All-America teams on Friday, as Ally Runyon was announced as a First Team selection, while Molly Long was a Third Team honoree. It is the first time since 2015 (Runyon; Third Team) and only the second time since Michelle Schlegel in 2004 that Ithaca has had a player earn IWLCA All-American honors, while it is the first time since 2003 that the Bombers had multiple selections.

Season of Firsts
Ally Runyon has broken numerous single-season and career records during her magical final season on South Hill. Her unprecedented accomplishments throughout the season helped Runyon add another feather in her cap, as she was named the program's first-ever IWLCA First-Team All-American on Friday.

Single-Season Records
Runyon has been on fire from the opening draw control this season, racking up new career highs for points and goals in a truly dynamite year for the fifth-year attacker. She has already obliterated the previous single-season program record for goals (61), entering the weekend with 69 scoring tallies on the year. She enters Saturday's contest with her sights set on another record, as she currently is just four points shy of tying Julie Stone for the single-season points mark. Stone registered 84 points in 1993, while Runyon became just the third player in program history to hit the 80-point mark in a season with her five-goal effort against Wesleyan last weekend.

Overtime is Alright
The extra-session has been a boon to the Bombers cause this season. Runyon's last-second overtime tally against Wesleyan in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament this past Sunday marked Ithaca's second overtime win of the 2017 campaign. IC is 2-0 in games that have gone beyond regulation this year.

Ranked Wins
Ithaca has not only taken care of business against some of the lesser teams on the schedule, but has also been quite strong against its top opponents as well. The Bombers thrilling win over No. 16 Wesleyan last weekend marked their fourth victory over a nationally-ranked foe this year. IC is 4-2 against such opponents this season, the most wins in a single-season against ranked opponents ever in its history. Ithaca's win over then-No. 2 Trinity (Conn.) also marked the highest-ranked team Ithaca has ever beaten in program history.

First Regional Round Appearance
Although Ithaca's at-large bid to the tournament field in 2017 marked the 11th time the program has been invited to the NCAA postseason, the Bombers will be in unfamiliar territory when it takes to the turf at Clark Field on Saturday. With its victory over Wesleyan, IC will be making its first-ever appearance in the NCAA Third Round (Sweet 16).

Fifth Meeting with the Gulls
The Bombers and Gulls have met four times prior to their meeting in the NCAA Third Round this coming Saturday. All four of the meetings took place during the 1990's when institution still went by the official name of Salisbury State University. The school became Salisbury University in 2001. Ithaca and Salisbury split the four meetings with the Bombers winning the most recent matchup in an 8-3 final during the 1997 season. This is the first time Ithaca and Salisbury have met in the NCAA Tournament.

Scouting Salisbury
The ninth-ranked Gulls have enjoyed another fantastic season in 2017, rolling into play on Saturday with a 15-5 overall record. Salisbury is coming off a two-win weekend in the opening two rounds of NCAA Tournament play last week, dispatching Regis 19-2 in the First Round and Hamilton 7-5 in the Second Round. The Gulls finished as the Capital Athletic Conference (CAC) Champions after dispatching nationally-ranked York (Pa.) 7-2 in the conference title game to earn the league's at-large berth. Salisbury has a well balanced offense that has seen four player register 40-plus points on the year. Dana King paces the group, entering the weekend with a team-best 58 points on 33 goals and 25 assists. Kristen Murphy (20g-27a-47pts), Lindsey Wagner (25g-21a-46pts) and Gabbi Nieves (34g-7a-41pts) have also topped the 40-point mark on the year. While the Gulls boast a potent attack, they arguably are even stronger defensively. Leading the way are two IWLCA All-American honorees in Kieran Kelleher and Allison Hynson, who were both named Third Team selections in Friday's release. Kelleher leads the defense with 26 ground-balls and 19 caused turnovers, while Hynson racked up 36 draw controls and 14 caused turnovers on the year. Gianna Falcone patrols the net for the Gulls, entering the weekend with sterling numbers of a 6.68 goals-against average and .475 save percentage.

Next Up
If Ithaca should get past the Gulls, it will face the winner of Gettysburg and Rhodes in the NCAA Quarterfinal. IC is 2-3 all-time against the Bullets, while it has never faced Rhodes.