ITHACA, N.Y. – The Ithaca College women's lacrosse posted a dominant performance in the first round of the Liberty League Championship at Higgins Stadium as the Bombers took down Clarkson, 18-5, to avenge a regular season loss to the Golden Knight. Ithaca heads to the semifinals on Friday with a 12-5 record.
The Bombers came out strong against Clarkson and found the back of the net early off an unassisted shot from
Kelly Augeri only four minutes into the game. Followed by a goal off a feed from
Lily Cody, freshman
Aubrey Holowinski slotted a shot to put the Bombers up 2-0. Goals from
Kathryn Scallon and
Sydney Smith propelled the Bombers offense to put them up 4-0 until Clarkson finally put away a goal on a man-up opportunity with just 14 seconds left on the clock in the quarter.
Back-to-back goals from
Leigh Naturale kept the Bombers rolling as
Gabrielle Crellin and
Phoebe Hosford ran the ball up from the defensive end to push the fast breaks.
Emma Hardy was able to place the draws to
Lily Cody and
Aubrey Holowinski on the circle to keep possession after each goal.
Taya Dukes capitalized on a goal from Holowinski with seven minutes in the second quarter, as the Bombers increased their lead to 7-1. Defense held their own and only let up two goals in the second quarter. A goal from
Katelyn Ikle and Cody capped the second quarter heading into halftime with a score of 9-3.
The third quarter began with back-to-back draw controls and goals from Cody, followed by a goal from
Anna Dahlman. The Bombers reached double digit goals with the score of 12-3 only three minutes into the second half.
Mikaela Dattilo stood tall, making save after save to hold down the defensive unit. The period ended with two goals from Hardy to send the Bombers into their final quarter with a score of 15-5.
Lillian Belsito scooped up ground balls in the defensive end pushed the Bombers to keep taking shots and controlling their offensive momentum in the fourth quarter.
Paige Smith found
Kelly Kilbourn in the eight-meter to seal the deal for the Bombers. With a score of 18-5, the Bombers will be moving onto the semifinal game against Union College on Friday.
Hosford led the team with four ground balls, while
Leigh Naturale notched four goals and one assist. Cody added three goals and two assists, and defenders like Crellin and Belsito made impactful plays throughout the contest.
Datillo made seven saves to surpass her 300-save milestone, Hosford passed her 100-ground ball milestone,
Kelly Augeri passed her 100-goal milestone,
Lily Cody passed her 150-goal milestone and all together the Bombers are moving on.
