The Ithaca College women’s lacrosse team played in the Liberty League Semifinals against Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute on May 3 and are moving to the finals after handily defeating the Engineers 14–7.
The first quarter showed that the Engineers did not travel in to just lie down for the Bombers. Despite this, the Bombers were still the first to score, as senior attacker Maizy Veitch scored her first of five goals and sophomore attacker Lily Cody added another.
However, the Engineers answered and scored two goals in the first quarter as well, ending it in a 2–2 tie. The second quarter had eight turnovers between the two teams — six for the Bombers and two for the Engineers. The Engineers had trouble keeping the ball in their sticks, resulting in 11 ground balls just in the first half.
With three more goals scored by the Bombers and two more scored by the Engineers, the score by the end of the first half was 5–4. Both teams fought hard, as the Engineers were trailing close behind, but they were no match for the Bombers’ defense.
The Bombers’ defense definitely put up a fight in the first half, as senior defender Liney Dutchyshyn and junior defender Kaitlyn Russell — along with senior goalkeeper Lexi Held — were as strong as ever. Held ended the first half with a total of seven saves for the Bombers and a total of 12 saves for the entire game.
Russell said the performance from the defense comes from how well they support each other on the field.
“I think that the defense was really connected, and as a team we are just really supportive,” Russell said. “It felt really good playing together.”
However, Engineers senior goalkeeper, Jenny Canfield, was the team’s star player this game, as she had a total of 11 saves in the matchup.
The second half of this intense matchup saw more aggressive play from the Engineers. There was more pushing and shoving in these last two quarters, but the Bombers remained strong.
Veitch scored three more goals in the second half, along with senior midfielder Caroline Wise scoring two free possession goals.
The Bombers finished the job and scored six goals to just one from the Engineers in the final quarter. The Bombers left victorious, with a final score of 14–7.
Russell said the team is looking forward to its Liberty League rematch against the William Smith College Herons in the finals.
“I think we have a lot to work on for Sunday,” Russell said. “We are ready and excited to go, to play on Higgy.”
The Bombers will play next in the Liberty League Championship at 1 p.m. May 5 at Higgins Stadium against No. 7 Herons.
