PRINCE ATHLETIC COMPLEX – University of Rochester women's lacrosse fell to the 20th-ranked Ithaca College Bombers, 21-10 on Wednesday evening inside Fauver Stadium, dropping their first conference game of the year.
 
The Bombers would score the first five goals of the contest, including four in the first three minutes, to open an early lead. Ithaca's Caroline Wise dominated the draw control early on, before Grace Crochiere won UR's first draw, giving the Yellowjackets possession just shy of the 10-minute mark.
 
And while Anna Rogers' shot was saved by Lexi Held, Lorelei King corralled the rebound and scored, putting the Yellowjackets on the scoreboard with 9:45 left in the first.
 
Ithaca quickly answered with another score less than 20 seconds later, but after a free-position shot went awry, the Yellowjackets got their offense going.
 
UR took the ball the other way and earned a free-position attempt which Grace Giannettino converted, cutting the Bombers' lead back down to four. And while Wise and the Bombers answered with a free-position goal of their own, this time, Rochester would respond with a run to pull within two.
 
Giannettino added her second score of the first quarter, this one off an assist from Alyssa Gorny, with 4:39 left in the first, and after Ava Saffren made a save on defense, UR took the ball the other way.
 
With less than two minutes to play in the first, Gorny found the back of the net herself, making it 7-4 Ithaca, and after Abbey Smith won the draw control, Jenna Ufberg scored another free-position goal, cutting the Bombers' lead down to 7-5 after one.
 
Rochester then quickly got on the scoreboard to start the second period, with Ufberg scoring another, this time off Giannettino's assist, to cut Ithaca's lead to just one, 7-6, 53 seconds into the quarter.
 
And while the Bombers won the ensuing draw, Ufberg forced a turnover and the 'Jackets would earn another free-position attempt on the offensive end, setting up Emily Schillinger's game-tying score with 13:08 left in the first half.
 
All tied up at seven, the Bombers quickly answered with another goal from Maizy Veitch, but Rochester came right back with one of their own, as Kassi Boehl converted yet another free-position attempt, leveling the score at 8-8 with 10:51 to play.
 
However, after the Yellowjackets couldn't take advantage of an Ithaca turnover and turned it over themselves, the Bombers would score three goals in less than a minute to take an 11-8 lead.
 
Two more Bombers' goals over the next two minutes extended Ithaca's lead to five, and while Rogers would add a late score for UR, Rochester would head into the halftime break trailing 13-9.
 
Ithaca then kept things rolling into the third, scoring six unanswered as they held the Yellowjackets without a score for the entire third quarter, opening up a 19-9 lead.
 
In the fourth, the Yellowjackets offense would finally find the back of the net once again, but it'd prove to be too little, too late, as the Bombers finished off the 21-10 victory.
 
Rochester falls to 4-3 (1-1 LL) with the loss, while the 20th-ranked Bombers move to 6-1 (2-0 LL) on the year.
 
Offensively, Giannettino, Schillinger and Ufberg each led the 'Jackets with two goals, while Giannettino and Gorny tallied UR's two assists.
 
Defensively, Ufberg also led Rochester with four groundballs, while King tallied a team-high two caused turnovers. In goal, Saffren faced 35 shots and made five saves.
 
Rochester will look to bounce back when it hits the road for the first time in conference play, visiting Potsdam, NY for a matchup against Clarkson University on Saturday, March 30 at 3:00 p.m.