UC was tied with #13 Ithaca at halftime, but the Bombers outscored the Pioneers 6-2 in the final 30 minutes
Box Score
#13 Ithaca College 9, Utica College 5 - Women's Lacrosse Final
Utica, NY (4/13/2013) – Senior goalie
Stephanie Belanger (Lewiston, ME/Lewiston) stopped a career-high 14 shots and the Pioneers held visiting and nationally-ranked No. 13 Ithaca College to a 3-3 tie at halftime, but the Bombers turned it up in the second half on their way to a 9-5 victory over Utica College in Empire 8 Conference play at Charles A. Gaetano Stadium Saturday. UC's
Megan Kane (Staten Island, NY/Tottenville) netted two goals, giving her a team-high 31 this season, and sophomore stand out
Morgan DuPont (Wynantskill, NY/Averill Park) chipped in with three assists, but it was not enough as the Pioneers dropped to 7-4 overall on the year and 1-3 in conference play.
The Bombers (7-4, 4-0 Empire 8) were led by three second half goals from the stick of reigning conference player of the year Tracy Rivas.
Allison Runyon also helped out with three goals of her own and Jess Worthman was a rock in net for the Bombers, stopping four shots to pick up the victory.
IC jumped out to a 2-0 lead in less than six minutes, but the Pioneers responded with two straight in a span of 2:45 to knot the score at 2-2 midway through the first half of action. Both teams exchanged goals in the final 14:41 of the first half to set the score at 3-3 at halftime.
Julia Primps (Ossining, NY/Ossining),
Louise Steele-Norton (Avondale, PA/Millbrook School) and
Patricia Kane (Staten Island, NY/Tottenville) each netted a first half goal for the home team.
Ithaca came out strong in the second half, scoring the first four goals in 16:01 to take a commanding 7-3 lead. Rivas and Runyon each had a pair of goals in the stretch. Rivas leads the Bombers with 31 goals this year.
Megan Kane (Staten Island, NY/Tottenville) netted two second half goals for the Pioneers but it was not enough as the Bombers came away with the four goal victory. Kane also added a game-high five draw controls and she picked up four ground balls.
Utica was outshot 35-15 on the day and the Bombers also earned a 27-16 ground ball advantage.
Both teams wore purple ribbons in honor of domestic violence awareness. The Pioneers also wore purple warm-up shirts and a 50/50 raffle was held with all proceeds being donated to the Alex Kogut Fund at New Hartford High School. Kogut was a high school student who was a victim of domestic violence and lost her life last year. A moment of silence for Kogut was held prior to the national anthem.
The Pioneers return to action for their final two home games on the regular season on Saturday and Sunday when they take on Alfred (4 p.m.) and Elmira (1 p.m.) in Empire 8 action.
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