ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The 17^th-ranked Ithaca College women's lacrosse team made its return to Liberty League play on Wednesday afternoon when it traveled to Rochester to face a University of Rochester motivated to snap a five-game losing streak to begin the 2018 campaign. The Bombers were also eager to snap a losing skid of their own after a pair of heartbreaking close defeats to nationally-ranked SUNYAC programs last week. It was IC that would prevail in the crucial battle, pulling away from the Yellowjackets for 19-9 victory at Fauver Stadium.
 
Entering the final 30-minutes with the two sides tied at 6-6, Ithaca continued its trend of strong finishes to pull away from Rochester for a lopsided win. The Bombers rung up 13 goals during the second session, while IC clamped down on a Rochester attack that was able to give the visitors trouble during the opening half to earn a much-needed victory. Ithaca posted two separate scoring runs; posting seven straight goals after falling begin 7-6 early in the second half. The Bombers concluded the game on a 6-0 scoring run to widen the margin over the final 10-minutes.
 
Leading the way for Ithaca were several major offensive performances. Junior attacker Allie Panara and sophomore attacker Bailey Herr each finished with a game-high seven points on the day. Panara tallied four goals and added three assists, also chipping in one caused turnovers and a team-best nine draw controls. Herr paced the Bombers with a career-high six goals, five of which came during IC's impressive second-half. The sophomore also added one caused turnover, one ground-ball, and one draw control.
 
Herr was not the only Ithaca player to have a career day. Junior midfielder Erin McGee also had a career-best performance offensively, registering four goals. She added two draw controls, one caused turnover, and one ground-ball. The big effort pushed past her previous career high in a season for points and goals with still half a season to play.
 
Staying in the midfield, freshman Jacqui Hallack continued to have a significant impact. She registered her seventh consecutive multi-goal performance, finishing with two goals to bring her season total to 21. The rookie added two ground-balls. Junior attacker Danika Wagener continued to shake off the rust in her second appearance since making her return to the lineup. She posted a multi-point game, scoring one goal and adding an assist.
 
The Bombers also got some goal scoring from its defense in addition to some impressive lock-down play over the final 48-minutes of the game. Junior Reid Simoncini and sophomore Becky Mehorter each tallied their first career goals on the afternoon. Simonicini added six draw controls and three ground-balls. Mehorter posted an additional ground-ball on the day.
 
Senior defender Molly Long had one of her best statistical games of the 2018 campaign on the day. She finished with a game-high three caused turnovers and five ground-balls. Fellow senior Elizabeth Sauer added one caused turnover and three ground-balls. Freshman Caroline Paquin added one caused turnover and two ground-balls. Sophomore midfielder Katie Welch chipped in one caused turnover, while she also registered a point on an assist.
 
In goal, senior Kimberly Presuto got back in the win column with a solid performance. She registered seven saves and a caused turnover to improve her record to 5-3 on the year.
 
Although Rochester entered the day still looking for its first win on the season, its record belied the quality of the team. The Yellowjackets first five losses came by a combined total of 14 goals, which included just two-goal margin in a loss at nationally-ranked SUNY Geneseo earlier in the year. The home side showed its quality in the opening minutes, stringing together a 4-1 scoring run over a 9:10 stretch. Brigid Regan scored her second of back-to-back tallies to push Rochester ahead 4-2 with 18:21 left in the first.
 
Hallack and Wagener helped Ithaca equalize the game with goals in successive fashion to level the score with 4:51 to play. Madeline Levy and Madeline Mullholand scored for the Yellowjackets during the waning moments of the half; however, goals by Hallack and Simoncini set the margin back to neutral. Simoncini tallied her goal on a free-position opportunity with 1:07 to play, sending the teams tied at 6-6 heading to the break.
 
Although Rochester scored the opening goal of the second session, the Bombers took control of the game with a seven-goal run over the ensuing nine minutes. McGee and Herr fueled the surge with McGee getting things started at 27:28 to re-tie the game at 7-7. Herr followed with a natural hat-trick over a 1:29 stretch. Mehorter and Panara added goals 2:12 apart, while McGee put the bookend on the run with her second goal of the stretch at 18:35. Just like that, Ithaca led 13-7.
 
Although Rochester was able to slice the deficit to four goals at 13-9 with scores by Jamison Seabury and Kendra Jones, another Ithaca surge over the final 10-minutes ultimately put things well out of reach. McGee, Herr and Panara each netted two goals apiece during the 6-0 run, which stretched from 10:47-to-4:02 left. Panara finished the scoring with her 19^th goal of the campaign, which also coincidentally was IC's 19^th goal of the game to close out the 19-9 victory.
 
Ithaca returns to action this weekend when it makes its long-awaited return to Higgins Stadium. The Bombers will welcome Union in another Liberty League matchup with start time scheduled for noon.