GENEVA, N.Y. – The 21^st-ranked Ithaca College women's lacrosse team got its postseason run underway on Saturday afternoon when it made the trip up Route 96 to Geneva, N.Y., for the Semifinal Round of the 2019 Liberty League Women's Lacrosse Championships, hosted at William Smith College. The second-seeded Bombers faced third-seed Clarkson in today's semifinal and for the second time this season showcased the full array of offensive fireworks in a dominating performance against the Golden Knights. It racked up a season-high 25 goals in the game, besting Clarkson 25-12 to advance to tomorrow afternoon's Liberty League Championship Game against the tournament-host Herons.
 
Saturday's contest against Clarkson in many ways mirrored the regular-season matchup played between the two sides back on April 6. Offense came in bunches in that meeting, a 24-16 Ithaca victory, which marked the most combined goals in a contest (40) for IC dating back to a 1996 game against Hartwick that featured 43 total goals. The month-long gap between this season's regular-season clash did nothing to slow down IC's penchant for finding the back of the net. The Bombers tickled the twine a season-best 25 times in the game and were never really threatened throughout the afternoon.
 
Ithaca had 10 players record at least one point on the day, while seven players posted multi-point outings in the win. Leading the way was junior attacker Bailey Herr who continued her absolutely torrid scoring pace down the home stretch this season. She posted nine points on Saturday, scoring six goals and adding three assists on the day. The effort brought her season total to 89 points, just three points shy of tying teammate Allie Panara's single-season program record of 92 points set last spring.
 
Senior attacker Elizabeth Rice also tied Herr for the game-high with six goals on the afternoon, while she also collected four draw controls. Classmate Allie Panara amassed four points on a two-goal, two-assist performance, while she also led the Bombers with seven of the team's 22 draw controls on the day. Senior Danika Wagener also looked to be in strong form with another week of recovery following a minor injury that kept her out of the lineup for a couple games down the stretch. She finished with three points on one goal and two assists. Sophomore attacker Madison Boutureira also chipped in one goal from the free-position.
 
The Ithaca midfield was paced by sophomore Jacqui Hallack, who scored five times in the victory. Hallack also continued to be a newly found weapon the draw control, racking up six during today's game. Junior Katie Welch tallied two goals, which was her second multi-goal outing this season. Sophomore Indira Varma rounded out IC's multi-point earner with two assists. Senior Erin McGee and sophomore Megan Motkowski each finished with one goal on the day.
 
Defensively, Ithaca was credited with seven caused turnovers in the victory. Junior Becky Mehorter and sophomore Samantha Marsh each notched one caused turnover, while tied for the team lead with three ground-balls. Sophomore midfielder Rachel Rosenberg, as well as Herr, Hallack, Wagener and Welch also posted one caused turnover apiece.
 
In goal, sophomore Mackenzie Schade turned in six saves to headline the day. The victory was her 13^th as the goalie of record this season. First-year keeper Lillian Matz gave Schade an early break, coming in for the final 10:48 of regulation. The rookie made one save and did not concede a goal.
 
It was a fast start that set the tone for the Bombers, never allowing Clarkson to get a foothold in the contest until a wide margin had already been established. Hallack, Herr and Rice each potted a pair of goals, while McGee also found the back of the net as part of a 7-0 run during the opening 8:14 of game action. Although Clarkson got its offense untracked as the contest entered the midway point of the opening half, the Golden Knights never really found a solution to slow down IC's dynamic attack. The result was the teams trading back-and-forth scores throughout much of the remainder of the opening 30-minutes. Clarkson got within five goals a couple of times during a 3-1 scoring run immediately following Ithaca's opening minutes barrage; however, the margin stayed between a five-and-eight goal Ithaca lead through the duration of the half.
 
Herr scored three additional goals down the stretch run of the opening half, while Rice also chipped in two additional scores in the first. The pair up top finished with five and four goals, respectively, once things hit halftime. Wagener, Motkowski, Hallack and Boutureira all found the back of the net once over the final 18:45 of the period. The 16 goals at halftime were a season high for the Bombers.
 
Perhaps most encouraging from an IC perspective was how well the defense clamped down to nurse its large lead into a victory in the second half. Hallack scored twice, while Herr and Rice also added goals in the opening 10-minutes of the second half. Hallack's goal with 20:24 remaining locked in the running clock for the first time.
 
Clarkson twice was able to get the margin back under 10-goals when Mia Petrone and Jaid Baytos each scored goals in a 2:08 span. Panara locked in the running clock for good when she scored her first of two down the stretch with 15:25 remaining in regulation. Rice gave the double-digit margin some breathing room with her sixth of the day and 58^th of the season with 12:20 remaining. Panara's 23^rd goal of the season pushed the margin to 24-12 with 9:35 to play, while Welch capped the scoring with her second of the day with 7:08 left in regulation.
 
Ithaca will be back in action tomorrow afternoon when it faces 14^th-ranked William Smith in the Liberty League Championship Game at 1:00 p.m. It will be the second straight season that the Bombers and Herons will meet in the final, with William Smith earning the league's automatic berth with a 15-10 victory a season ago.