POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. – The 19^th-ranked Ithaca College women's lacrosse team suffered its most heartbreaking defeat of the season on Saturday afternoon, falling to unranked Vassar 15-14 on the road at Weinberg Field in the Bombers' final road contest of the Liberty League regular-season slate. The loss drops IC's record to 10-5 on the year and 7-2 in Liberty League play heading into the final week of the year.
 
It was an uphill battle for the Bombers throughout the day against a scrappy Vassar outfit that was upset-minded and quite motivated in riding the wave of emotion from the celebration of Senior Day. All knotted up at 6-6 through 30-minutes, the Brewers shell-shocked the Bombers with a 4-0 scoring run coming out of the gates in the second half to grab an edge that set the stage for an exciting stretch run. Ithaca battled all the way back from that significant deficit to twice take one-goal leads in the final 10-minutes; however, it was Vassar that had the last say on Saturday. The Brewers scored twice with under four-minutes left in regulation to stun IC with a critical late season defeat that could loom large in the weeks ahead.
 
Although Ithaca lost, the team did receive a little bit of help from Clarkson on Friday. The Bombers were able to retain hold of second-place and a potential bye through the Quarterfinal Round of the upcoming Liberty League Tournament by virtue of the Golden Knights' 15-10 win over the Thoroughbreds yesterday afternoon. IC holds the head-to-head tiebreaker over Skidmore, ensuring that Ithaca still controls its own destiny heading into next Saturday's regular-season Liberty League finale against RIT. Unfortunately, today's loss to Vassar coupled with William Smith's win over Rochester officially extinguished Ithaca's hopes for a Liberty League regular-season title.
 
Offensively, Ithaca was carried by four multi-point getters on the afternoon. Senior attacker Allie Panara led the way for IC with five points on three-goals and two helpers. Fellow senior attacker Elizabeth Rice registered four goals on the day, while sophomore mid Jacqui Hallack extended her run of hat tricks to eight straight games with three goals. Junior attacker Bailey Herr also posted three points on one goal and two assists.
 
Adding goals for IC were junior Katie Welch, as well as sophomores Indira Varma and Caroline Grant. All three players scored once on the day. First-year Peyton Fleming continued her strong weekend with one assist on the day.
 
Defensively, Ithaca had troubles slowing down Vassar's attack for stretches of the day. A big contributing factor was IC's struggles on the draw. The Brewers doubled up the Bombers in draws on the day, outpacing IC 21-to-10 in the statistic. With constant attacking pressure throughout the day, the Brewers were able to generate 35 shot attempts compared to just 22 for the Bombers. Junior Becky Mehorter and sophomore Caroline Paquin each recorded one caused turnover on the afternoon, while Grant and Panara both joined the two aforementioned defenders with one forced miscue in the game. Senior defender Reid Simoncini did her part on the draw, corralling a team-best eight on the day.
 
In goal, sophomore Mackenzie Schade finished the day with nine saves. The loss drops her record to 10-5 as the goalie of record this season.
 
Notwithstanding the sluggish start to the second half, the final 30-minutes showcased some of Ithaca's finest play of the season. The Bombers locked in after digging the 10-6 hole and played some of their best two-way lacrosse of the season in a heroic comeback bid that looked like it was going to come to fruition.
 
Hallack and Panara scored 4:17 apart midway through the frame to spark IC's comeback efforts. A subsequent 4-0 surge over a 4:10 span lifted Ithaca to a 13-12 lead. It was the first time Ithaca had been ahead since leading 6-5 with 9:28 to go in the opening half. Panara set up the first two goals of the run, feeding Grant and Rice for scores 2:12 apart. Varma tied things up with a slick finish with 8:53 to play, while Rice scored in a quick strike right off the ensuing draw to push IC ahead 13-12 with 8:33 left in regulation.
 
Unfortunately, Ithaca's lead last only 58-seconds, as Tessa Waters capitalized for a woman-up goal after Simoncini was whistled for a green card on the ensuing draw control following Rice's go-ahead marker.
 
Ithaca pulled back ahead when Herr scored her first of the day with 6:17 remaining. The score remained unchanged over a pair of possessions for both sides, before Fiona MacLeod equalized for the Brewers with 3:37 to go.
 
Vassar won the ensuing draw and rumbled back into the IC zone following the MacLeod goal. Schade was able to rebuff the Brewers on their initial scoring chance of the sequence, as IC's sophomore keeper stoned MacLeod with a big save on the doorstep. Sadly, Ithaca was unable to clear the zone and a turnover provide the hosts with another opportunity in the waning moments. Vassar made good on the second chance when unlikely scorer Haydn Hallman netted just her fourth of the season to put the Brewers back ahead 15-14 with 1:10 remaining. Ithaca never had a chance to seek out a late equalizer. Tessa Waters won the final draw control of the game and Vassar bled out the remaining clock to score the victory.
 
Ithaca will get back in action on Wednesday, April 24, when it hosts Hamilton College in a non-league game set to begin at 5:00 p.m. at Higgins Stadium.