ITHACA, N.Y. – The No. 17 Ithaca College women's lacrosse team remained perfect on home turf on Saturday afternoon, running its record to 6-3 on the year and 3-0 in Liberty League action, in a 17-10 victory over Union College at Higgins Stadium.
 
Playing on its home field for the first time in over three weeks, IC used a quick start to gain the upper hand en route to the comfortable win. Ithaca scored five times in the opening 10:43 of the game and never trailed in the contest. Once again a strong second half helped the Bombers pull away, twice getting the margin above 10-goals to enact the running clock. Although the Dutchwomen were able to end the game on a 5-2 scoring run to close the deficit back under double-digits, the visitors never truly threatened.
 
Pacing the Bombers offensively was a career day for junior attacker Elizabeth Rice. Returning to the lineup following a two-game absence, the third-year talent needed no time to shake off the rust. She filled the Union goal early and often in amassing a career-high eight goals, which marked the single-game best by an IC player this season. She added one caused turnover, one draw control, and two ground-balls in the contest.
 
Junior attacker Allie Panara was the creator on several of those Rice tallies, as Panara racked up a season-high nine points on the afternoon. She tallied four goals for the second straight contest, while she dished out a season-high five assists. Panara added five draw controls, two ground-balls, and one caused turnover. Fellow junior Danika Wagener was the other IC player to register a multi-point effort, posting two goals and one assis, as well as a pair of ground-balls. It was her second straight multi-point effort since her return from injury three games ago.
 
Adding goals on the afternoon were juniors Erin McGee and Maeve Cambria, as well as sophomore Katie Welch. Each player scored once in the contest. Freshmen Jacqui Hallack and Caroline Grant, as well as sophomore Bailey Herr each added one assist to round out Ithaca's points on the day.
 
Defensively, the Bombers turned in a virtuoso effort from a stats perspective. The team amassed a season-high 17 caused turnovers on the day. Each of IC's five starting backline players recorded at least one forced miscue in the game. Leading the way was senior Elizabeth Sauer, who finished with four caused turnovers, five ground-balls, and two draw controls.
 
Junior Reid Simoncini was all over the field, finishing with three caused turnovers, three ground-balls and a season-high 10 draw controls. Her work retrieving the draw paved the way for Ithaca's game sealing second-half run.
 
Senior Molly Long and junior Kaylou Stoddard each posted two caused turnovers apiece in the game. Long added two ground-balls. Sophomore Becky Mehorter chipped in one caused turnover and two ground-balls, while she played physical defense for the Bombers throughout the afternoon. Freshman Alex Rabb added a caused turnover during the second half from the midfield.
 
In goal, senior Kimberly Presuto won her second straight decision to improve to 6-3 on the year. She marked eight saves and a caused turnover on the day.
 
A five-goal run for the Bombers during the opening minutes of the game delivered a lead the home side would never relinquish. Ithaca got on the board 2:30 into the game when Rice and Panara kicked off their big afternoons by combining on the team's first score. Taking a feed from Panara at the left flank, Rice had two steps on the defender and used the space to fire a snap shot into the bottom right of the cage.
 
McGee followed up that goal 1:52 later when she also capitalized on a great pass from Panara. Working free at the right flank, Panara hit her with a quick skip pass from the center point to McGee at the right side of the fan. She sent a top-shelf laser into the upper left corner. Just 1:12 later, Rice stretched the advantage to 3-0 when she fired a free-position shot into the bottom right of the cage.
 
Panara and Welch capped the run when they scored 2:53 apart. Panara tallied at 22:10, receiving a slick feed from Herr from behind the cage and depositing a shot into the wide-open cage. Welch stretched the lead to 5-0 with 19:17 left in the half when she finished off a great play from Panara. The junior started the sequence with a shot from the left side of the fan that was blocked. Panara corralled the rebound and quickly hit Welch with a pass as she made a cut to the cage. Welch deposited the shot into the lower right corner of the cage.
 
Union controlled play over the ensuing few minutes to claw back into the contest. The Dutchwomen scored three straight goals over a 3:19 stretch to shave the deficit to 5-3. Hannah Rosenberger sent hom her first of two goals in the game to start the run, while Corey Golden tallied the final two goals for the visitors during the run.
 
IC answered with a 2-1 scoring advantage over the final 9:00 of the opening half. Wagener pulled some momentum back for the Bombers when she tallied with a rifle shot on a free-position opportunity after she was tripped in front of the cage on a scoring chance. Rice capped the scoring in the half with her third goal of the game with 2:39 left. This shot came off a restart, as junior whipped home a laser from just outside the attacking fan on the right wing. The goal sent Ithaca into the half leading 7-4.
 
It was a fast start when play resumed in the second half that put things away for Ithaca. The Bombers scored seven times in the opening 8:50 of the second stanza to pull ahead by 10 goals at 14-4. Rice powered the run with three goals during the stretch, while Panara added two scores and an assist.
 
Rice got things started 1:30 into the second half when she converted her fourth of the afternoon. This goal came off an excellent run down the right flank of the Union defense, while she finished it off with a great shot from a difficult angle that snuck into the bottom left of the cage. The Bombers continued to build the lead 3:19 later when they scored twice in an 11-second span. Cambria scored the first, using a power move to hold off her marking defender on a cut to the slot, before pump faking twice and unleashing a low shot that beat the Union keeper into the lower right corner. Rice added her fifth of the game right off the ensuing draw win by Panara with the duo syncing up on a quick passing play. Suddenly IC led 10-4.
 
Rice tallied a sixth goal 1:11 later, receiving a pass from Grant with acres of space in the attacking zone. She utilized all the space she was given, taking four strides toward goal and firing a shot into the lower right corner from the slot.
 
Panara scored twice in a 14-second span shortly after Rice's goal. The first was a sharp angle shot from the right flank similar to Rice's goal to begin the second half. Panara's second score of the sequence came from a long run down the right wing off a draw control win. Wagener locked in the running clock when she converted a feed from Hallack, sending a laser into the upper left corner as she was tumbling to the turf.
 
Although Union was quickly able to get the margin back under 10 goals with a Rosenberger score at 18:05, Rice scored twice more to again get the clock running. Her first was on a long run down the slot, while the second came on a feed from Panara, sending the shot into the lower right corner.
 
Union finished the half strong with five of the final six goals of the day; however, Ithaca had the game well in hand by that point. Panara capped the scoring for Ithaca, converting a feed from Wagener with 8:09 remaining.
 
Ithaca returns to action on Friday, April 6, when it travels to Canton, N.Y., for a 4:00 p.m. start. The Bombers will continue the North Country trip the following day with a 3:00 p.m. battle at Clarkson.