GENEVA, N.Y. – The nationally ranked No. 10 Ithaca College women's lacrosse team came up just short of the program's first Liberty League title as the Bombers fell to No. 8 William Smith College, 12-11, at Urick Stadium on May 8. With the loss, Ithaca is 16-3 and will await to see if it earns an at-large bid to the upcoming NCAA Division III Championship, which will be announced at 10:30 a.m. tomorrow.

The Bombers raced out to a 2-0 lead in the first quarter as Kelly Mehorter tallied her first career goal at the 12:26 mark and then Madison Boutureira took a pass from Sydney Phillips just over three minutes later.

William Smith answered with a four-game run to conclude the first quarter with a 4-2 lead as all four goals came in a six-minute stretch. The final tally found the back of the net with 49 seconds remaining.

Ithaca had its own response to the Herons' run, as the Bombers ran off the next five goals to open the second quarter and turned a 4-2 deficit into a 7-4 lead with 5:19 remaining in the half. Boutureira started the run with her second goal of the afternoon at the 12:35 mark and then Caroline Wise knotted the game with 10:44 to play. With 7:35 to go, Lexi Kellish put the Bombers ahead, 5-4, and then Lauren White took a pass from Kellish just over a minute later. Boutureira notched her hat trick on an advantage goal with 5:19 on the clock off a pass from Wise.

The Herons would score the final two goals of the quarter, including the final marker with just 11 seconds left, to pull to within a 7-6 difference heading into halftime.

William Smith then scored the opening two goals of the third quarter to go ahead, 8-7, with 3:19 remaining in the period. Phillips went on her own two-goal run to wrap up the third quarter and put the Bombers back in front, 9-8, as the teams went into the final 15 minutes of action.

Phillips' second goal came with just nine seconds remaining, as William Smith initially scored on the other end of the field, but the play was blown dead, and the Herons were awarded a free position. On that ensuing restart, the Herons were stuffed at the cage by Lexi Held and immediately flipped the field to take the 9-8 edge. Held finished the game with 11 saves.

IC and William Smith would trade goals over the opening six-plus minutes of the fourth quarter to be knotted at 10-10 with 9:35 left in the game. Kellish scored IC's goal during that sequence.

William Smith then went back ahead, 11-10, with 7:59 on the clock, but the Bombers would once again tie things up at 11-11 as Maddie Hall scored with 6:15 left.

The Herons scored the eventual game-winning goal with 4:59 to play, but the Bombers had a golden opportunity to tie the game with 23 seconds left.

Maizy Veitch earned a free position but her shot went off target and the Herons regained possession. The Bombers forced a turnover with seven seconds remaining but could not take a shot.

IC won 16-of-26 draws in the game as Wise won 10. The Bombers were perfect on clears, 12-for-12, but turned the ball over 16 times.

If the Bombers are selected for the NCAA Tournament, it will be the program's 14th appearance.