The Ithaca College women’s lacrosse team overcame a four–point deficit to upset the No. 24 St. John Fisher Cardinals 15-11 on April 17 at Higgins Stadium to conclude their regular season at home. Forcing turnovers and embracing the ride game was crucial for the Bombers, giving them the edge in the second quarter.
The Bombers began behind, trailing to the Cardinals by four goals, beginning the second quarter. In the first period and in the earlier portions of the second, the team struggled to create shooting space, taking their sweet time off of the shot clock trying to find and create openings.
Senior midfielder Lily Cody’s season-best performance, four goals and four assists, helped guide the Bombers to their 10th win of the season and 4th home win.
“I think that it definitely took us a little bit in the offense to get a rhythm against their defense,” Cody said. “[They are] a really high pressure defense, so really keeping our feet moving and looking with our heads up, we definitely got the opportunity to look for that shooting space and really just go hard to the cage, definitely without moving our feet and driving hard, we wouldn’t get that opportunity.”
With less than six minutes in the second period, the Bombers’ momentum began to swing their way. Sophomore attacker/midfielder Kathryn Scallon delivered a power shot just inches away from the crease to tie up the game, assisted by junior attacker Kelly Augeri.
The Cardinals won the next draw and tried to clear the ball, but the Bombers put heavy pressure on the ball handler along the sideline, forcing an out-of-bounds turnover. The Bombers drove the ball down the field and the duo of Scallon and Augeri scored again to take the lead. Scallon, who was unaccounted for from the ride, came from behind and left St. John Fisher’s goalkeeper in a one-on-one situation. Scallon pulled off a hat trick by the end of the game.
Out of 19 clear attempts, the Cardinals successfully got the ball over the midfield line 13 times.
Cody, who forced two turnovers adding to the team total of 19 on top of contributing eight points, said the Bombers play a very “team oriented defense.”
“It’s all about having each other’s back,” Cody said. “So once we force a direction, we really have the faith in our teammates to cover that slide, and we just drive out with our legs, and hopefully we get that turnover, which we did a lot today, even some interceptions. We read the ball really well in the air.”
The Bombers, who have struggled at Higgins Stadium compared to away, broke the .500 home win percentage mark against a non-conference opponent. They will play two final regular season match-ups against Hamilton College on April 21 in Clinton, New York, and conclude at Skidmore College on April 25 in Saratoga Springs.
