A pendulum swings freely when it is put out of balance. If a pendulum is pulled to one side, it will swing back and forth until it has returned to equilibrium. The Ithaca College women’s lacrosse team gutted out a pendulum-like victory over the Rochester Institute of Technology Tigers on May 2, thanks to a game-winning goal in the final minutes.
Just like the pendulum, the first quarter saw the Bombers and Tigers exchanging blows, sprinting down the field in both directions from the opening draw. The Bombers struck first thanks to senior midfielder Elizabeth Green driving to the goal for her first of four goals on the afternoon.
After RIT evened the score three minutes later, Ithaca jumped on top again. Graduate student attacker Hayley Armstrong found graduate student midfielder Lexi Kellish on the right side, passing across the front of the net where her teammate snuck it in to make it 2-1. Just over a minute later, the Tigers responded with an incredible goal by junior midfielder Adele Jones, bouncing a shot that tricked first-year goalkeeper Mikaela Dattilo. Both teams would score again before the Bombers took a 4-3 lead into the second quarter.
Unfortunately for both teams, the second quarter would have to wait as an hour-long lightning delay ensued, forcing the teams to retreat inside the Athletics and Events Center. Green said the team played music in the locker room to stay loose during the delay.
“We didn’t want to get tired and lose the momentum that we had,” Green said. “We stayed up and kept our energy.”
RIT leveled the score just over a minute into the second quarter. After both teams exchanged goals twice, Green drew a free-position play, where she hit the crossbar, but saw the rebound scooped up, finding its way to Armstrong who put the Bombers back in front, 6-5. As the second quarter came to a close, the Tigers seemed determined to take control of the game, despite being down 8-7 at the half. The energy in the stands began to pick up, as the fans realized it was going to be a special game.
Despite the score sheet showing the Bombers outscoring the Tigers 3-1 in the third, RIT had possession for a majority of the quarter. Fans began to grow restless with the officiating after watching several calls fall in favor of the Tigers.
With under four minutes to play in the third, the crowd finally had something to cheer for because the Bombers locked in themselves. Junior attacker Leigh Naturale saw first-year attacker/midfielder Kathryn Scallon sprinting into the crease, where she potted the team’s 10th goal of the game to put the Bombers up two.
With less than 30 seconds left in the quarter, the Bombers had one last push on offense, where sophomore attacker Kelly Augeri picked up a free-position play, darting a shot into the back of the net to put the Bombers up 11-8 with 16 seconds on the clock.
The start of the fourth quarter signaled that the Bombers had found their groove because Green took a low shot on the left side that put Ithaca up four. This was the largest lead of the game, while the pendulum swung in favor of the Bombers.
However, following Green’s goal, the Tigers did everything they could to bring the pendulum back to equilibrium. RIT rattled off three consecutive goals to make it a one-score game, leaving the crowd on its feet feeling the pressure of the moment. That pressure was soon halted as the second lightning delay of the game lasted for nearly an hour, sending everyone back inside once more.
When the two teams returned to the field, it was like the game had never paused because the Tigers came back to tie it up with a free-position goal on the first play. With just under four minutes on the clock, the fans anticipated an intense finish, bringing the noise as the score was even at 12.
With the pendulum in equilibrium in the final minutes, the Bombers were determined to swing it in their favor once more. In the final 90 seconds, Green played the role of hero, whipping the ball past the goalkeeper to put the Bombers in the lead for good, where they went on to win, 13-12. She said she moved into a comfortable position and found the back of the net.
“That’s kind of my bread and butter,” Green said. “I just did what I know how to do, and it … went in.”
The Tigers, despite their valiant efforts, never held a lead during the game. Green said this demonstrated the team’s maturity following adversity when the Tigers continued to fight back.
“We stayed super resilient throughout the whole game,” Green said. “We knew what we wanted to do coming in and we really wanted to keep the momentum and make smart decisions.”
