ROCHESTER, N.Y. (April 27, 2008) – On Sunday afternoon, the Stevens Institute of Technology women's lacrosse team lost a 12-11 decision to Ithaca College in the final seconds of the Empire 8 Championship at Nazareth College in Rochester, N.Y. With the defeat, the Ducks fell to 12-5 on the year. As for the Bombers, they improved to 9-6 overall.
Knotted at 5-all with just under 25 minutes to go in regulation, Ithaca tallied three unanswered goals to grab hold of an 8-5 lead with 21:22 remaining. Senior midfielder Kim Medla (Brewster, N.Y.) notched two of the game-high five goals in that span. Junior attacker Becky Bedard (East Longmeadow, Mass.) had the other. She also dished out the two assists on the tallies by Medla.
Stevens responded with four consecutive scores over a six-minute stretch to take back the game at 9-8. Freshman attacker Leah Wasserman blasted two goals, while sophomore attacker Alyssa Pigott and senior midfielder Kaitlyn Roes accounted for the other two. After that, the Bombers totaled another three tallies to go ahead by two (11-9).
But still, the Ducks refused to go away as Pigott posted two unassisted goals with 5:52 and 1:48 left in the second half. That tied everything up again at 11-11. However, with 48 seconds remaining, Ithaca sophomore attacker Kylie McClure (Columbus, Ohio) led the Bombers to victory with a score off a feed from Bedard.
Pigott finished with a game-high seven points off three goals and four assists. Wasserman registered three goals and one assist. She also earned three draw controls and two ground balls. Senior attacker Liz Mather added two assists. Freshman attacker Michelle Buonacuore collected three goals and two ground balls. Senior goaltender Stephanie Linder made a game-high seven saves.
Medla scored five goals, which led all players. Bedard totaled six points off two goals and four assists. She also caused two turnovers. McClure contributed a hat trick and a draw. Senior midfielder Sarah Knauf (Rochester, N.Y.) amassed two ground balls, two caused turnovers and a draw control. Senior goalkeeper Emily Brooks (Setauket, N.Y.) stopped five shots in the win.
Stevens owned a 24-23 edge in shots and a 14-11 margin in draw controls. Ithaca held a 24-20 advantage in ground balls. The Ducks were 0-3 in the free position, while the Bombers were 4-for-6 (66.7 percent).
Stevens will wrap up the regular season this Tuesday when it hosts third-ranked TCNJ at the De Baun Athletic Complex at 6 p.m. As for the post-season, the Ducks will await word on a possible bid to the NCAA or ECAC Tournament. The brackets for both championships are scheduled to be released later in the week.
