SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – The seventh-ranked Ithaca College women's lacrosse team made its Liberty League debut on Saturday afternoon when it traveled to Saratoga Springs to face a red-hot Skidmore squad. The Bombers would not be denied in the contest, turning a slim one-goal lead at halftime to power past the Thoroughbreds for a comfortable 10-goal win, the program's first-ever Liberty League victory. The win improves the team's record to 4-1 on the season.
 
It was the second-half that made all the difference for IC, as the Bombers showcased their depth and emerging young talent to run away with the contest. Ithaca outscored Skidmore 11-to-2 in the final frame to turn a 9-8 lead at halftime into a lopsided victory. The game continued a trend of strong second halves for the Bombers this season. It marked the third time in five games this season that IC has outscored its opponent by five-or-more goals in the second stanza.
 
Leading the way for IC offensively was the dynamic combination of junior attacker Elizabeth Rice and freshman midfielder Jacqui Hallack. Both players had career-best performances that proved instrumental in helping Ithaca score the crucial Liberty League win. Rice finished with a career-high eight points, posting six goals and adding two assists. Hallack also continued to carve out a huge role in IC's burgeoning offense. She finished with a career high seven goals. It marked the fourth consecutive game with a multi-goal performance for the rookie, while it was her third hat trick of her fledgling career.
 
Three other players tallied multi-goal efforts for Ithaca in the victory. Junior attacker Allie Panara extended her scoring streak to five straight games to begin the season, finishing with two goals and a team-high eight draw controls. Junior attacker Maeve Cambria added her first two goals of the 2018 campaign, while freshman Indira Varma also posted her first career multi-goal effort with two scores. Freshman midfielder Rachel Rosenberg rounded out IC's goal scoring with one goal, while sophomore Bailey Herr transformed from primary shooter to a passer, finishing with a career-best five assists in the contest.
 
Defensively, IC continued to torment opponents and again showed the penchant for completely locking things down after halftime. The Bombers finished with 13 caused turnovers in the contest. Senior defenders Molly Long and Elizabeth Sauer each finished with two in the game, while freshman Molly Nodiff also added a pair of forced miscues on the day. Junior Kaylou Stoddard and sophomore Becky Mehorter also each finished with one caused turnover in the tilt.
 
In goal, senior Kimberly Presuto ran her record to 4-1 on the season with another strong effort. She made double-digit saves for the third time this season, posting 12 stops in total. She also registered one caused turnover.
 
Scoring in bunches has been a strength of Ithaca all season and the team used those spurts of success to gain an early edge. IC scored three times in a 39-second span to take a 3-1 lead just under 10-minutes into the game. Hallack and Rice tallied 20-seconds apart, while Cambria added her first goal of the season with IC working with a player-advantage just 19-seconds after Rice put Ithaca into the lead at 2-1.
 
The remainder of the opening half proved to be back-and-forth with Skidmore hanging tough against IC's potent attack. A three-goal stretch by the Thoroughbreds lifted the home side to its first lead of the game at 6-5 with 13:38 to go in the first. However, Ithaca responded with a three-goal run of its own to take back momentum. IC's three-goal stretch came over a 3:29 spell as the half was winding down. Cambria sparked the run with her second goal of the game with IC on the player-advantage due to a Skidmore yellow card. Hallack and Rice capped the surge with goals 1:11 apart, with the latter putting Ithaca up 8-6 with 3:15 left in the half. It was Rice's fourth goal of the half.
 
Hallack ensured Ithaca would take a lead into the break when she joined Rice in the hat-trick club to break an 8-8 deadlock. The rookie finished off a great pass from Rice to score her third of the half with 22-seconds left, pushing Ithaca back up 9-8. The Bombers would hold the lead throughout the rest of the game.
 
The Bombers earned some breathing room in the opening five minutes of the second half, as Hallack, Rice and Rosenberg each scored to upgrade IC's lead to 12-8 with 25:29 left in the game. After Skidmore's top-scorer Shelby Boland cut into the lead with a goal at 23:55, the Bombers added another three-goal surge to take a 15-9 lead at 21:39. Panara scored the first two goals of the run just 59-seconds apart, while Varma posted her first of two goals int eh game just 45-seconds after Panara's second goal.
 
The Bombers saw out the victory with a five-goal run to close the game. Rice and Varma tallied goals 46-seconds apart with 16:47 left to play. Hallack capped her absolutely huge afternoon with a natural hat-trick over the final 16-minutes, putting the exclamation point on the game with her seventh goal coming with 23-seconds to play.
 
Presuto and the defense made sure things stood up with a dominant effort in the second half. The Thoroughbreds only were able to break through for two goals in the second session, while the Bombers shutout Skidmore over the final 20:24 of game action.
 
Ithaca returns to action on Tuesday, March 20, when they travel to face nationally-ranked SUNY Cortland. The contest is slated for a 4:00 p.m. start.