ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The 19^th-ranked Ithaca College women's lacrosse team got its much-anticipated 2019 campaign underway on Saturday afternoon when it traveled to Nazareth for the season opener. Behind an offensive barrage in the opening half, the Bombers easily pulled away from the Golden Flyers for an impressive 13-4 victory to jump start the season on an emphatic note.
 
Pacing the Ithaca scoring was a huge opening game for junior attacker Bailey Herr. The third-year talent picked up right where she left off during her breakout sophomore season, exploding for seven points to lead all scorers. She tallied two goals, as one of four multi-goal scorers for the Bombers on the day, while she also registered a game-high five assists.
 
IC's attack certainly showcased why it was being heralded as one of the top groups in the country heading into the season. In addition to Herr's monster outing, four other players posted multi-point efforts for the Bombers. Senior attacker Elizabeth Rice and sophomore midfielder Indira Varma each notched hat tricks, while senior attacker Allie Panara (2G) and junior midfielder Katie Welch (1G, 1A) both tallied two points. Senior mid Erin McGee and sophomore transfer Megan Motkowski each added one goal, while sophomore attacker Alexa Ritchie marked her first career assist.
 
Perhaps even more encouraging was Ithaca's work on the other side of the field. With some new faces taking on major roles in the defensive third and between the cage, goal prevention was an area of concern heading into the season. If Saturday was any indication, the Bombers look to be in pretty good shape in that regard. Ithaca completely smothered the Nazareth attack, limiting the home side to just 12 shots on goal and forcing 17 caused turnovers in the contest.
 
It was Ithaca's returning starting duo of senior Reid Simoncini and junior Becky Mehorter were outstanding in the back. Each player tied for the team lead with four caused turnovers and four ground-balls apiece. Simoncini also picked up where she left off on the draw with a game-high seven controls on the day. Behind the returning duo, sophomores Jacqui Hallack and Molly Nodiff both posted two caused turnovers. Motkowski and Herr, as well as sophomore Caroline Grant and rookies Gillian Hanson and Kelly Mehorter marked one caused turnover apiece.
 
Sophomore goalie Mackenzie Schade was also quite impressive in her first collegiate start. She registered eight saves, which included six while the game was still in the balance in the opening half. It was Schade's first career victory.
 
It was Nazareth that actually scored the opener of the day when Addilys Geitner whipped a shot past Schade 2:07 into the game. However, a three-goal run by Ithaca lifted the Bombers to a lead they would hold onto through the duration of the contest. Varma got IC on the board with the opening goal of the 2019 campaign 5:27 into the game. Herr followed with the go-ahead goal off a slick feed from Welch 3:08 later. The duo synced up again 4:19 later; however, this time it was in reverse with Herr returning the favor to Welch who finished the goal for a 3-1 lead.
 
Kellie Byrne brought the Golden Flyers back within a goal with a little over 11-minutes left in the half, but it was all Bombers from that point forward. Varma's second goal of the day with 10:15 remaining in the first sparked an eight-goal surge for the Bombers that spanned the final 10-minutes of half and the beginning 2:30 of the second stanza.
 
Panara stretched the advantage to three goals with 6:21 left in the first. Varma finished off her first-half hat trick 50-seconds after the Panara tally, while Rice posted her first of the day 26-seconds later. Rice added a second with 2:11 to go, while McGee capped the first-half scoring on a buzzer-beater with eight-second remaining in the frame. The final four goals were all assisted by Herr.
 
Ithaca did not wait long to get the offense in gear when play resumed in the second. Motkowski scored her first goal in an Ithaca jersey just 37-second into the frame. Rice followed that up her third of the day with 27:31 remaining. Although Nazareth got one back from Emma Robinson 2:20 after the Rice goal, back-to-back scores by Herr and Panara widened the advantage to a 10-goal spread with 19:27 remaining. The running clock was locked in for roughly 4:30, before Emily Allen capped the scoring on the day with 14:59 remaining. Ithaca's defense locked down from that point forward, easily seeing out the comfortable victory.
 
The Bombers will be back in action next Saturday, March 2, when they welcome rival SUNY Cortland for the team's home opener at Higgins Stadium. It will be the first of four ranked opponents on Ithaca's 2019 schedule, as the Red Dragons entered the year as the 14^th-ranked team in the IWLCA Preseason Poll.