GENESEO, N.Y. – The No. 9 Ithaca College women's lacrosse team hit the road for another ranked-on-ranked battle against another SUNYAC foe on Saturday afternoon when the team traveled to SUNY Geneseo. Looking to shake off the sting of a heartbreaking 12-11 loss on the road at No. 15 SUNY Cortland earlier this week, instead the Bombers got a double-dose of the bitter pill, as the Knights were able to barely outlast the Bombers by another razor-thin margin in a 10-8 final. The loss drops the Bombers to 4-3 on the season, while IC has now dropped three straight to ranked teams that may have an impact should it have to turn to its at-large resume down the road.
 
Much like during Tuesday's defeat at SUNY Cortland, Ithaca showed its resolve with another gutsy second-half rally. Trailing 9-6 with a little over 11-minutes left in the contest, Ithaca responded with goals from junior Maeve Cambria and sophomore Bailey Herr to cut the deficit to a lone goal with 6:56 to play. Unfortunately, the Bombers were unable to control the ensuing draw control. After a timeout by Geneseo, Erin Cregan was able to best IC's senior keeper Kimberly Presuto with a snap shot with 5:57 left. The Knights kept the Bombers off the scoreboard for the remainder of regulation, as keeper Tess McFadden made two stops in the final minute to deal IC its third defeat in the past four games.
 
It was Ithaca's rookies that again set the tone and delivered large contributions. Freshmen midfielders Caroline Grant and Jacqui Hallack each registered a pair of goals on the afternoon. For Grant, it marked the first multi-goal effort of her collegiate career. Hallack's two-goal afternoon stretched her streak of multi-goal games to six straight outings.
 
Sophomores Bailey Herr and Katie Welch were the other IC players to tally a multi-point effort on the day. Both players registered one goal and one assist on the afternoon. Welch's big afternoon snapped a two-game absence from the point sheet, while Herr's goal brought her total to 15 on the season.
 
Other IC players to earn points on the day were juniors Maeve Cambria and Erin McGee. Each posted one goal on the afternoon.
 
Defensively, IC finished with 12 caused turnovers on the day. Welch and Presuto led the way with two each. In the defense corps, sophomore Becky Mehorter and junior Reid Simoncini each posted one caused turnover and one ground-ball on the day. McGee added one caused turnover and two ground-balls, while Hallack and junior Allie Panara matched the stat-line of McGee. Grant, Herr and Cambria added the other three caused turnovers on the day.
 
In goal, Presuto hung tough against Geneseo's potent attack. Matching Geneseo's keeper McFadden save-for-save throughout the lower scoring tilt, the senior finished with a season-high 15 saves in the losing effort. The result dropped her record to 4-3 on the year.
 
The opening minutes had the look of a very different contest, as Ithaca was able to find some wide cracks in the Geneseo defense. Grant got Ithaca on the board just 34-seconds into the game when she received a feed from Herr and fired the shot past McFadden to kick off her career afternoon. Just 2:14 later, McGee weaved through the Knights backline to double IC's advantage to 2-0 at 27:12.
 
Although Geneseo pulled one back when Hannah Marafioti sent her first of five goals past Presuto at 26:08, Hallack re-established the two-goal lead at 18:42 with her first of the day. However, that momentum was short-lived as the Knights punched back with three goals in a 3:59 span to round out the scoring in half that turned into a tale of the goalies over the final 15-minutes. Marafioti sent home two of scores during that run, while Cregan netted the go-ahead goal at 14:27 to send Geneseo into the halftime break up 4-3.
 
Much like the first half, Ithaca came out red-hot to begin the second frame. Welch and Grant scored goals 1:08 apart in the opening 3:17 to push Ithaca back into the lead briefly at 5-4. However, another scoring run by Geneseo put the home side ahead ultimately for good. The Knights put four goal past Presuto over an 8:39 stretch with Marafioti sparking the run at 23:40 and Maddie Lee capping the run at 15:01. Suddenly, the Knights had an 8-5 lead.
 
Hallack and Marafioti traded goals over a 2:26 stretch, setting the stage for the exciting final 10-minutes. Cambia kicked off the sprint to the finish with a nice goal off a Welch feed at 100:28. It marked the third consecutive game she has registered a goal. Herr followed with a goal as the clock ticked just under seven-minutes, bringing Ithaca back within a goal for the first time since the midway point of the second half.
 
Unfortunately, that was the last time the Bombers would score, as the McFadden denied the Bombers throughout the remainder of regulation.
 
Ithaca returns to action on Wednesday, March 28, when it concludes the four-game road swing at University of Rochester. It will be Ithaca's second Liberty League battle with the Bombers looking to build on their 1-0 start. Opening draw is at 4:00 p.m.