ITHACA, N.Y. — The Ithaca College women's lacrosse team improved to 6–2 on the season and 3-0 in the Liberty League after defeating the No. 22 St. Lawrence University Saints by the score of 14–12 on March 24 at Higgins Stadium.
The Bombers were led offensively by
Sydney Phillips with four goals and
Chloe Nordyke with three. The trio of
Lexi Kellish,
Maizy Veitch, and
Caroline Wise had two goals each, and Hayley Armstron dished out four assists as well. Defensively, Wise recorded 18 draw controls, while
Kaitlyn Russell Olivia Puppo had three ground balls each. In net,
Lexi Held stopped 11 shots, good for a .478 save percentage.
The Bombers got on the board less than 30 seconds in after
Caroline Wise recorded the opening draw control to establish possession, and
Maizy Veitch scored on a free position shot on the first shot on goal of the game. The Saints would respond with a goal from Rachel Burke three minutes later to even things up, but goals from
Chloe Nordyke and
Sydney Phillips gave the Bombers a multi-goal lead early. The Saints were able to get one of those back, but it would be answered by goals from Veitch again off a free position shot, and Nordyke shortly after. Phillips would also record her second goal of the opening frame with two minutes left to give Ithaca a 6–2 lead that would stand through the rest of the quarter.
After a first quarter that featured eight goals, the second quarter was a more defensively focused frame. The first goal of the second quarter would not come until 6:33 remained in the half, when Wise was finally able to break through, scoring on a free position shot. Nordyke would complete the hat trick a minute and a half later, but the Saints had an answer from Burke to make the score 8–3 heading into halftime.
34 seconds into the third quarter, Phillips would complete her hat trick after
Lexi Kellish recorded the opening draw control, and Armstron found Phillips for the shot. Phillips scored again five minutes later on a man-up free position shot. The Saints started to push back with two goals of their own, but
Maddie Hall and Kellish answered with two goals for Ithaca. In the final minute of the quarter, Burke scored again for St. Lawrence, and the Bombers would enter the final quarter of regulation with a 12–6 lead.
Another quick start to the quarter benefitted the Bombers in adding insurance to their lead, as Wise won the draw control and Kellish scored in the opening minute. With time working against them, the Saints began to push back and string some goals together, narrowing their deficit to four goals with nine minutes left. With seven minutes left, the Saints put together a 4–1 run to make it a 14–10 game, but play would settle down and St. Lawrence spent a timeout with four minutes left with the score remaining the same as it was. The Saints remained on the offensive as time ticked down in the fourth, cutting the deficit to three with two minutes left. St. Lawrence would get one more goal, but it was too late to complete the comeback, as the Bombers held on to win 14–12.
The Bombers led in shots 36–30, but the Saints held the edge in shots on goal 23–22. Ithaca held a sizable advantage in draw controls 19–9, but the Saints led in ground balls 18–14.
The Bombers have a quick turnaround for their game tomorrow against Clarkson University at 3 p.m. at Higgins Stadium.
