BROCKPORT, N.Y. – The 11^th-ranked Ithaca College women's lacrosse team hit the road for the first time in 2018 on Sunday when it traveled to Rochester for a monumental early challenge against No. 14 Brockport. The Bombers passed its first road test with flying colors, racking up 21 goals in a 21-8 thrashing of the Golden Eagles to improve to 2-0 on the young season.
 
The impressive goal tally ranks as one of the best offensive performances for the program in recent memory. Sunday marked the first time that Ithaca has scored 20-plus goals against an opponent ranked in the IWLCA Top-25 Poll since IC potted 20 goals in a 20-14 victory over 19^th-ranked St. John Fisher on April 2, 2011. The 13-goal margin of victory was easily the highest against a ranked foe during the past 14 seasons of action, for which records were on-hand.
 
Eight IC players got in on the goal scoring, while nine total players registered at least one point on the day. Sophomore attacker Bailey Herr led the way for IC, continuing her massive start to the 2018 campaign with seven more points on the afternoon. The second-year star amassed five goals and added two assists in a comprehensive effort in the attacking third.
 
Two other Bombers added hat tricks on the day. Junior attacker Elizabeth Rice finished with six points, racking up four goals for the second straight game and also adding a pair of helpers. Freshman midfielder Jacqui Hallack tallied three second-half scores to help IC pull away.
 
Four other Ithaca players had multi-goal afternoons. Leading the way was junior attacker Allie Panara, as the third-year standout collected five points on two goals and three assists. Junior midfielder Erin McGee had big afternoon, tallying two goals and two assists, while freshman midfielder Rachel Rosenberg chipped in three points on two goals and one assist. Sophomore midfielder rounded the excellent day for IC's quickly growing midfield, as she netted two goals as well.
 
Rounding out the point scoring for IC was sophomore defender Becky Mehorter, who fired home her first collegiate goal to finish off the 21-goal effort. Junior attacker Maeve Cambria posted one assist on the day.
 
Defensively, senior Molly Long keyed an excellent afternoon for the backline. She forced two caused turnovers and added four ground-balls leading an IC defense that allowed little room for Brockport to operate. Fellow senior Elizabeth Sauer added one caused turnover and three ground-balls, while freshmen Molly Nodiff and Caroline Paquin each recorded one caused turnover.
 
In goal, senior Kimberly Presuto had an excellent day. She stopped 11 Brockport shots, eight of which came in the first half helping IC take command of the game. The effort improved her record to 2-0 on the year.
 
For the second straight outing to begin the 2018 campaign, the nationally-ranked Bombers came flying out of the gates with an offensive barrage. Ithaca pumped in four goals in the first 10:42 of the game to take the upper hand.
 
Junior midfielder got Ithaca on the board first, firing in a shot after a slick feed from junior attacker Elizabeth Rice to get IC on the board. Just 2:19 later, sophomore attacker Bailer Herr doubled the advantage, as she capitalized on another stellar feed from Rice to make it 2-0 7:07 into the game.
 
Although Brockport was able to pull one goal back when Heather Conklin was able solve a stingy Ithaca defense and rock solid goalkeeping from Presuto just shy of the 10-minute mark, IC struck for two more goals in a 30-second span under a minute later to widen the advantage to 4-1. It was junior Allie Panara who tallied first, scoring right off the draw control in transition. Freshman Rachel Rosenberg followed with a goal of her own on the ensuing possession, receiving a pass from Herr and lasering a shot past Brockport keeper Sara Shaddock. The latter goal prompted a brief goalie substitution, as the Golden Eagles attempted to shake up momentum with reserve keeper Sarah Brown coming into the game.
 
The ploy had initial results for the home side, as Brockport sandwiched a goal by Rice with two tallies of its own to pull back within two goals at 5-3. However, a five-goal run by IC gave the Bombers some breathing room as the first half neared its conclusion.
 
Sparking the beginning of that five-goal run was sophomore Katie Welch, who fired home her first of the campaign with 13:32 remaining. The tally was the first of three IC goals in a 2:16 span. Rice notched her fourth point and second goal of the game on a free-position to make the score 7-3, while Herr finished off that three-goal stretch with a howitzer inside the left post. The three-goal run prompted Brockport to again change keepers, sending starter Sara Shaddock back into the cage.
 
Just over three minutes later, the IC scoring came in bunches again. Herr and McGee linked up on a textbook give-and-go with the latter knifing through the Brockport defense on a center drive to fire a shot into the bottom left. Rosenberg followed with her second goal of the afternoon just 39-seconds later, taking a feed from Panara as the freshman flashed across the slot. The scoring run elevated IC's lead to 10-3 with 7:24 to play.
 
The dominant opening half was capped by Herr. The second-year standout notched her fifth point and third-goal in the first 30 minutes with just 1:19 left in the period. The goal came off a scramble in front, as an initial shot by Rice rang off the left post and kicked high into the air just in front of the cage. Herr located the ball and won the battle amongst the traffic in the slot, whipping a quick shot through the legs of Shaddock to send IC into the break leading 11-4.
 
The Bombers picked up right where they left off in the second session, continuing to blitz the Golden Eagles with an unrelenting barrage of shots. Rice got things going just 10-seconds into the second frame when she notched her hat trick off an excellent pass from Rosenberg.
 
Katie Welch and freshman Jacqui Hallack widened IC's lead to nine goals when they scored back-to-back 4:26 apart to make the score 14-5. However, Brockport hung around with two goals in a 17-second span to pull back into the game when Taylor Thomas and Cheyenne Burnham fired shots past Presuto with still over 21-minutes left. Ithaca answered back, completely shutting down the Golden Eagles for the remainder of the game to run away with the contest down the stretch.
 
It was Herr, Rice and Panara that pushed Ithaca's lead into double-digits for the first time on the day. First, Herr netted her fourth goal of the afternoon to snap Brockport's little run of momentum. Panara followed with her second goal of the day just 29-seconds later off the ensuing draw to widen the margin back to nine at 16-7. Rice capped the scoring run with her fourth of the afternoon to make the score 17-7 and lock-in the running clock for the remainder of the day.
 
The Bombers went on to score four more times, before Brockport was able to add an inconsequential goal with 18-seconds remaining. Herr fired in her fifth of the day with 9:46 remaining, while Hallack scored twice in a span of 3:34 to notch her first career hat trick at the collegiate level. Sophomore defender Becky Mehorter even got in on the act, capping the scoring for IC with a transition goal down the right flank after picking up a loose ball near midfield with just over two minutes to play. The goal was the first of her collegiate career for the backline player.
 
The 11^th-ranked IC women are back in action at Higgins Stadium this week when they welcome University of Scranton on Thursday, March 8. Start time is set for 4:00 p.m.