Box Score CORTLAND, N.Y. – The 19^th-ranked Ithaca College women's lacrosse team took the show on the road for the first time this season on Sunday afternoon when it made the short trip up Route 13 for the latest match-up in the long-standing local rivalry against No. 22 SUNY Cortland. The Bombers kept its early-season momentum right on churning, spoiling the season-opener for the Red Dragons in a high-scoring 16-12 final. The win improves Ithaca's record to 3-0 on the young season and 2-0 against opponents ranked in the IWLCA Top-25 Poll.
 
Eight Bombers found their way onto the score sheet on Sunday. Headlining the scoring group were a trio of hat-trick performances. Junior midfielder Jacqui Hallack led all IC players with a four-goal output to push her season total up into double-digits at a team-best 11. Junior midfielder Megan Motkowski complemented Hallack's outing with team-best five-point, registering three goals and two assists. Junior attacker Alexa Ritchie also continued her breakout campaign with a three-goal effort in the win.
 
Senior midfielder Katie Welch backed strong four-point outing in the mid-week win over No. 24 Scranton with another strong effort on Sunday. She delivered three points on two goals and one assist, her third consecutive multi-point outing to begin the year. Junior attacker Madison Boutureira registered a multi-point outing for a second straight contest, tallying two goals in another example of emerging secondary scoring that had to be encouraging on a day where IC's top two scorers – senior attacker Bailey Herr and junior attacker Indira Varma – were held in check. Herr tallied just a single goal on the day, while Varma posted a lone point on an assist. Junior midfielder Caroline Grant also tickled the twine with a scoring snipe once in the contest to round out the IC scoring.
 
Junior keeper Mackenzie Schade finished the day with five saves to record her third straight win as the goalie of record this season.
 
It was not the smoothest of starts for the Bombers in their first road contest of the season. Although Ritchie got the scoring started for either side in the contest with her first of three goals on the day 3:50 into the game, the Red Dragons threatened to run away with things during the middle portion of the opening half. Cortland blitzed the Bombers for six consecutive goals over a 7:22 span to pull ahead. Lexie Meager keyed the run with three of her game-high five goals scored during the stretch.
 
Once Ithaca finally found its footing, it began to showcase the scoring prowess that has been a hallmark to Ithaca's fast start this season. IC capped the final 10:18 of the first half on a 9-1 scoring run to take a 10-7 lead to the break. Motkowski and Hallack sparked the run by scoring 18-seconds apart to begin to carve into the deficit. Herr converted a sharp feed from Welch to keep the momentum churning, while the Bombers added six more goals after Meager netted her fourth of the half with 7:56 remaining. Four Bombers found the back of the net during the 4:40 stretch of play with Hallack and Ritchie each netting two apiece.
 
Cortland was able to shave the deficit to two goals three separate times during the second half; however, each time the Red Dragons celebrated the Bombers responded with a quick counter to maintain the multi-goal advantage. Welch and Boutureira each netted free-position scores, while Grant upped the advantage to a four-goal margin at 14-10 with 11:56 to play. The two sides traded two goals a side over the waning minutes, as Motkowski and Hallack answered Cortland tallies from Kiki Meager and Brie Yonge.
 
Ithaca will continue its brutal stretch of non-league schedule on Saturday, March 7, when it travels to face 21^st-ranked Brockport at 11:00 a.m.