SCRANTON, PA - The University of Scranton women's lacrosse team took down No. 11 Ithaca College in a thrilling 12-10 victory as the Royals earned their first win of the season on Sunday afternoon at Weiss Field in Scranton, Pa.
The Basics:
- Final Score: Scranton - 12, No. 11 Ithaca - 10
- Records: Scranton (1-4); No. 11 Ithaca - (2-1)
How it Happened:
- Scranton got the scoring started in this game when sophomore Jillian Lopez took a pass from classmate Eileen Hewitt, drove to the net and scored to give the Royals an early 1-0 lead.
- Lopez added her second goal of the game 1:13 later, taking it herself through the Ithaca defense and ripping it past Ithaca's goalie Mikaela Dattilo, extending the lead to 2-0.
- Ithaca responded with a pair of goals less than two minutes apart to tie the game at 2-2 with 4:15 left to play in the first quarter. The Royals took a pair of shots on goal in the final minute of the quarter, but Dattilo made two saves to keep the game tied heading into the second quarter.
- The Bombers rode the momentum they grabbed at the end of the first quarter, scoring three goals in the first 4:59 of the second period, taking their first lead of the game, 5-2.
- Scranton responded at the 9:07 mark when graduate student Erin Reich connected with junior Jessica McCabe who ripped it by Dattilo to cut the deficit to two goals.
- Reich got the Royals one goal closer, capitalizing on a free position attempt to bring Scranton within one with 5:01 to go in the half.
- The Bombers responded one minute later, and they added another goal during the 14th minute of the second quarter to go up 7-4 with 1:29 to play.
- Lopez, on a free position attempt, scored for the third time with 1:08 left to go. The Royals struck again with just 33 seconds left in the half when Reich found senior Grace Lane who scored her first goal of the day to send the game to half time with Ithaca leading 7-6.
- Ithaca began the third quarter by scoring two goals in the first five minutes of the period, extending their lead to 9-6.
- Scranton responded with a three goal run, tying the game at 9-9 as the quarter came to a close. First, Hewitt scored on a free position attempt and then Lopez followed that up with her fourth goal of the game to pull Scranton within one. Then, with just two seconds left in the third quarter, Reich found senior Shannon DiDominica who bounced it into the net, scoring her first goal since Apr. 15, 2023 to tie the game at nine.
- In the second minute of the fourth quarter, it was once again Lopez who converted on a free position attempt to give Scranton its first lead since early in the first quarter.
- Senior Devyn Tanajewski added two huge insurance goals, first in the fourth minute of the fourth quarter and again with just 3:24 left in the game, to push Scranton's advantage to 12-9.
- Although Ithaca scored one more time in the fourth, junior goalie Eva Guerino made a pair of clutch saves in the final four minutes as the Royals held on to win their first game of the season, 12-10.
Top Performers:
- Lopez led the Royals with five goals, tying a career-high she set last week against TCNJ.
- Hewitt recorded one goal, three assists and five draw controls, including her 100th career draw control.
- Reich had one goal and three assists.
Inside the Box Score:
- Scranton out shot Ithaca 38 to 30.
- Both teams won 12 draw controls apiece.
- The Royals tallied nine caused turnovers, while the Bombers recorded nine.
Up Next:
- The Royals are back in action on Wednesday against Lebanon Valley College, with action set to begin at 4 PM at Weiss Field in Scranton, PA.
