UTICA, NY (April 5, 2009) - The Utica College women's lacrosse team knocked off defending Empire 8 Conference Champion Ithaca College 14-12 on the turf at Charles A. Gaeatno Stadium Sunday. The victory marks just the second time in program history the Pioneers have defeated the Bombers. 2008 conference rookie of the year Tammy Kohanski (Syracuse, NY) netted six goals and added two assists to pace the Pioneer attack.

Utica (5-3, 2-1 Empire 8) has now won two straight for the first time this season and they currently share third place in the conference standings with Nazareth College. With the win, the Pioneers improved to 2-7 in nine meetings all-time against the Bombers. Ithaca has now lost two consecutive two goal games (Stevens, 16-14/ Utica, 14-12) and the Bombers dropped to 4-4 overall and 1-2 in conference play.

Katie Hurley (Honeoye Falls, NY) spotted the Bombers and early two goal lead when she scored back-to-back goals, just 19 seconds apart, to give Ithaca a 2-0 lead 2:55 into the first half of play. The stingy Pioneers netted three of the game's next four goals to knot the contest up at 3-3 at the 24:21 mark of the first half. Kohanski scored two of the Pioneers first three goals.

IC answered by scoring three consecutive goals to take a commanding 6-3 lead with 14:25 to go in the first half. Hurley's third goal of the contest started the rally, while Nicole Borisenok (Watervilet, NY) and Kassie Garfield (Cuttyhunk Island, MA) each added a tally to give the Bombers the three goal advantage. The Pioneers responded with three straight goals, two coming from the stick of Kohanski, and the game was tied up for the second time, 6-6, with 7:19 to go in the half. IC's Siobhan Sullivan (Franklin, MA) gave the Bombers the lead headed into halftime after she scored a goal, assisted by Becky Bedard (East Longmeadow, MA), with just 47 seconds remaining on the first half clock.

UC opened the second half by scoring seven straight goals to take a commanding six goal lead, 13-7, with 14:46 to go in the contest. In fact, the Pioneers had scored 10-of-11 goals spanning 26:57 after trailing 6-3 midway through the first half. Freshman Katlyn Banker (Henrietta, NY) opened the second half scoring and tied the game at 7-7 two minutes into the final 30 minutes of play. Kohanski then netted her 28th goal of the season 3:25 later to give UC its first lead of the contest, 8-7, and senior Jackie Vicencio (Miller Place, NY) scored her first goal of the game 27 seconds after Kohanski to give the Pioneers a two goal lead. Utica then rattled off four more unanswered goals in a span of 9:10 to take a 13-7 lead.

Ithaca was not done yet though, scoring five of the game's final six goals, but it proved to be too late as the Pioneers earned the two goal victory. Sophomore Kylie McClure (Columbus, OH) and freshman Nicole Borisenok hooked up for two straight goals in a span of 1:47 late in the game and McClure closed out the scoring on the day by tallying her 21st goal of the season with 54 seconds left on the game clock.

UC earned an 18-10 draw control advantage on the day. The Pioneers won 12-of-14 draw controls in the second half to help gain a strong hold on ball possession throughout the final 30 minutes of play. Ithaca scooped up 24 ground balls compared to the Pioneers' 22 and the Bombers also forced 26 turnovers.

Sophomore Julianne Schultheiss (Commack, NY) netted three goals and added a team-best three assists, while senior captain Laura Keating (Whitesboro, NY) added two goals and one assist. Kohanski added four ground balls and three caused turnovers to go along with a game-high eight points. She currently has a team-high 36 points this season and she surpassed 2006 graduate Lauren Schreiner for sole possession of fifth place on the College's all-time scoring list (125 career points). Senior Kelly Regan (Massapequa, NY) picked up five ground balls, caused four turnovers and added three draw controls.

Junior Kylie McClure and sophomore Katie Hurley each netted three goals for the Bombers, while Becky Bedard posted four points on three assists and one goal. Abby Peterson (Underhill, VT) scooped up a team-best five ground balls and she also caused five turnovers.

UC freshman goalie Shelby Barbay (Waterloo, NY) stopped nine shots in her fifth victory of the season, while her counterpart, Courtney Dowell (Massapequa, NY), made nine saves in net for the Bombers.

Utica Head Coach Kristin St. Hilaire, who spent two seasons as assistant coach at Ithaca (2006-2007), looks to keep the ball rolling as she takes the Pioneers on the road for their final six games of the regular season. UC's six game road trip begins with RIT on Friday when the Pioneers square off against the Tigers in a conference battle at 4 p.m.

Ithaca begins a four game home stand at Carp Wood field on Friday when they host St. John Fisher College for an Empire 8 Conference contest at 4:30 p.m.

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