POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. - The nationally ranked No. 19 Ithaca College women's lacrosse team lost a close Liberty League matchup at Vassar College on Friday afternoon, 12-11. Ithaca is now 8-5 overall and 5-3 in the Liberty League with three games remaining on its schedule for the regular season.
Vassar started strong, jumping out to a 2–0 lead in the opening minutes of the first quarter thanks to quick goals from Tess Billings and Emilia DiLiberto. Ithaca responded late in the quarter with a goal from
Leigh Naturale to make it 2–1 wrapping up the first quarter. Both teams were held almost scoreless in the second quarter with the exception of a Vassar goal midway through the quarter. Thus, giving the Brewers a 3–1 edge at halftime.
In the third quarter the game picked up pace as Ithaca clawed their way back.
Elizabeth Green opened the half with a man-up goal, followed by
Lily Cody's first of the day to tie the game at 3–3. From there, the teams traded goals in a fast-paced stretch — Reilly Mulcahy scored for Vassar,
Kathryn Scallon answered for Ithaca, and then Amelia Poirier reclaimed the lead for the Brewers before
Lily Cody's second goal tied it back up at 5–5 heading into the fourth quarter.
Early in the final period, Ithaca began to further crack the Brewer defense. Cody completed her hat trick just under two minutes in, and goals from Green and
Kelly Augeri gave the Bombers an 8–6 lead, their largest of the game. But Vassar responded with three of their own in just over a minute to flip the scoreline and give Vassar a 9-8 lead. Ithaca quickly tied it again with a man-up goal from Augeri, but Vassar then scored two unanswered goals to swing momentum back in their favor.
Despite a late push by Ithaca, which included goals from
Juliana Esposito and
Hayley Armstrong, Vassar netted a goal with just 51 seconds remaining in the game. Although Armstrong scored just 11 seconds later to bring Ithaca within one, it wasn't enough to bring home the win.
Overall, the game was evenly matched across most categories. Ithaca outshot Vassar 27–26 and recorded more shots on goal (22–24), but Vassar controlled the draw circle with a 16–11 advantage. Cody led Ithaca with a hat trick and an assist. Augeri had two goals and two assists, while Green netted two goals as well.
Mikaela Dattilo stood strong in net making 12 saves and four ground balls and strong defensive efforts came from Kaitlyn Russel (2 GB, 2 CT), Lauren Russel (2 GB, 1 CT), and
Phoebe Hosford (2GB).
The Bombers take on Bard for another Liberty League match up tomorrow in Annandale-on-Hudson, NY at 2pm.
