GENEVA, N.Y. – For the second consecutive year, the final day of the Liberty League season came down to the two Finger Lakes rivals William Smith and Ithaca duking it out for the rights to the league's automatic bid to next week's NCAA Tournament. Returning to the turf at Boswell Stadium in Geneva, N.Y., less than 24-hours after their demolition of third-seeded Clarkson in the Liberty League Semifinal, the Bombers had revenge on the mind heading into the Championship Game tilt against the Herons. Sunday's contest certainly lived up the billing with the two Liberty League leaders answering each other blow-for-blow in a one of the most exciting finals in recent memory. Unfortunately, Ithaca came up just short of flipping the script from last season, as a thrilling comeback bid fell just short in a last-second 12-11 defeat.
 
The deciding goal in today's contest came with just 21-seconds remaining in regulation. Payton McMahon played the hero for the 14^th-ranked tournament hosts on the game's deciding possession. First, she was able to wrestle away control of a draw that was nearly won by Ithaca's senior captain Allie Panara. With just a handful of seconds separating the shot clock from the game clock, McMahon finished off a quick passing play from Rachel Slagle on the doorstep to push the Herons back ahead 12-11 with just 20.8-seconds remaining. Ithaca won the ensuing draw control when senior defender Reid Simoncini was fouled trying to corral the ball; however, with just seconds left in the game Ithaca never had an opportunity to get one final look at goal. A turnover in the midfield with under five-seconds remaining sealed the game in favor of William Smith, as IC had to again endure an agonizing Liberty League Runner-Up finish in Geneva for a second straight season.
 
The similarities between last year's contest and this year's was quite striking as the games followed a very similar script through the midway point of the second half. However, it was Ithaca's resiliency and guile that transformed today's contest into a thriller worthy of remembrance despite the sour conclusion.
 
Both teams held two-goal advantages during the opening half with William Smith jumping out to a fast start only to have Ithaca respond with a four-goal run to open up a brief 5-3 advantage. The Bombers looked a bit unsettled out of the gates, making a few unforced errors that opened the door to William Smith's bright start. After William Smith's Ellie Burns and Ithaca's senior attacker Elizabeth Rice exchanged goals in the opening 2:38, the Herons netted back-to-back scores to pull ahead 3-1 through the opening 10-minutes. Anna Murphy and Kelsey Williams both converted nice passing feeds from Rachel Slagle to deliver the hosts the early lead.
 
Ithaca pushed back with a four-goal run through the middle stretches of the opening half to snag its own two-goal lead. The work really began in earnest with IC's unrelenting ride, which limited William Smith to a season-worst 11-for-23 conversion rate in successful clears in the contest. It truly was perhaps the best performance that Ithaca has displayed on the ride this season.
 
Junior attacker Bailey Herr pulled Ithaca back within a goal when she synced up with senior attacker Danika Wagener in one of their patented passing plays from behind the cage. The goal made it 3-2 with 15:01 left in the first half. The Bombers pulled level 2:17 later when Allie Panara fed sophomore midfielder Jacqui Hallack streaking across the net-front on a free-position restart. The goal prompted a William Smith timeout with 12:44 to play in the half.
 
Ithaca's ride continued to give William Smith fits, as Panara and sophomore midfielder Megan Motkowski each forced turnovers on clearing attempts over the ensuing stretch. The goalkeepers also answered each other with free-position saves during the stretch following the timeout, as William Smith's Olivia Hofmann stymied Rice and Ithaca's sophomore Mackenzie Schade stopped Ellie Burns.
 
The Bombers took their first lead of the day at 4-3 with 7:28 to go before halftime. Senior midfielder Erin McGee netted the go-ahead tally, receiving a feed from Rice on the left side of the fan and cutting with speed through the slot, before besting Hofmann with a shot across the grain to the lower left of the cage. Just under three-minutes later Rice fired home her second of the half off a pass from sophomore midfielder Indira Varma to push the Bombers ahead 5-3 with 4:37 to go before the break.
 
Unfortunately, IC was unable to keep the momentum churning heading into the half, as the Herons showcased their quick-strike ability with two goals on back-to-back possessions to tie the game. Sadie Mapstone got the first with 3:29 left in the half, while Nicki Santora potted the second goal 1:11 after Mapstone's to knot the score at 5-5. Ithaca had one final chance to secure a lead heading into the break, but William Smith defended the chance expertly to ensure things would remain deadlocked.
 
The opening portions of the second half featured a continuance of William Smith's strong finish heading into the break. Nicki Santora, Kelsey Williams and Rachel Slagle each scored in the opening 3:28 of the second to push the Herons to their largest lead of the game at 8-5. Wagener finally snapped the Herons' 5-0 scoring run with a big goal off a Jacqui Hallack feed, but William Smith answered just 11-seconds later on a transition shot by Burns. Rice netted her hat-trick score on a free-position chance with 24:59 left in regulation, which would be IC's lone conversion on a free-position shot on Hofmann in the entirety of the game.
 
The Herons pushed back with a two-goal rally over a 4:50 span to widen its advantage heading into the latter stages of the half. Nicki Santora reestablished a three-goal lead for the hosts with 21:12 left. The second score in the run was somewhat demoralizing, as Schade made a dazzling save on a point-blank chance from Kelsey Williams only to see the rebound pop out of Schade's crosse and directly into the crosse of Rachel Slagle for a put-back score with 16:22 remaining. As was the case during last year's final, the Herons looked to be threatening to pull away.
 
Ithaca regrouped on a timeout and came out with a poised response, which again began with some excellent work on the ride. The Bombers dominated the ensuing stretch to launch a furious comeback effort over the final minutes.
 
The comeback got sparked with 11:58 remaining when Panara synced up with Hallack on a nice pass to the net-front for the second-year midfielders second goal of the day. After a draw control win from Panara, the senior captain went on to dish out another slick assist to Herr, with the latter finishing on an overhead shot in traffic right on top of the crease. Just like that, IC was back within two goals at 11-9 with plenty of time left.
 
Wagener closed the deficit to a single goal with 6:19 to play, closing out an extended Ithaca possession that featured several good scoring chances. The goal was a thing of beauty, as Wagener received a pass on the right side of the fan and faked an inside move, before circling back to the outside and firing a sharp-angle shot into the top of the cage.
 
The comeback charge was briefly halted when Varma was issued a yellow card for a stick foul after a turnover in the offensive zone, but IC's defense stood tall. The Bombers staved off a pair of free-position chances in a bit of whacky sequence that featured a long conference between the officials and head coaches on a potential crease violation call. In the end, it was ruled that William Smith's Kelsey Williams was pushed, granting the hosts another chance. However, the Bombers blocked the ensuing shot attempt and surged forward on a counter attack that would hit pay-dirt. Panara and Herr would sync up for the second time in the 4-0 Ithaca scoring run to pull the visitors all the way back at 11-11 with just 1:41 remaining.
 
Unfortunately, that would be the last true look that IC had in the attacking zone in the game. William Smith's McMahon was able to just muscle away possession from Panara on the ensuing draw control, which ended with the Herons go-ahead score with little time remaining.
 
IC entered the day firmly entrenched on the proverbial bubble of NCAA Tournament selection possibilities. Although Sunday's competitive defeat certainly was not a blemish that would hurt IC's tournament resume, matters will no be left the selection committee, as Ithaca will hope to hear its name called for an at-large berth to continue its 2019 season. The Bombers will find out their fate at 9:30 p.m. on Sunday evening when the NCAA unveils its Division III bracket. Fans can watch the announcement HERE: CLICK HERE.