Senior Callie O'Neil and junior Rachel Burke each scored three goals in the Saints' 10-4 second half to power the No. 25 St. Lawrence University women's lacrosse team's 17-16 comeback win over No. 4 Ithaca on Friday afternoon at Hall-Leet Stadium.

The Scarlet and Brown remain undefeated on the season at 7-0 and are now 2-0 in Liberty League action. The Bombers fell to 5-1 on the year and 1-1 in conference action.

With the loss, Ithaca, who dropped just two games a season ago, lost their first regular season game since April 20, 2019 where they lost 15-14 to Vassar.

The team showed a ton of resilience tonight," said head coach Chelsea Martin "It was a complete team effort from top to bottom and I am so proud of the effort given by every member of our team tonight. The team remained positive throughout the whole game and earned the comeback win as a result."

Burke scored six goals total, while O'Neil had five goals and one assist in the contest. Morgan Arakelian was playing distributor all game en route to four assists. Senior Isabel Silvia and junior Charlotte Powell each provided two goals in the game.

Ithaca looked as if it jumped on the board first in the game, but the Saints quickly transitioned down the field to bury their first of the game. Burke provided the game opening tally just one minute and 16 seconds in.

Lauren White and the Bombers answered right back as White scored two goals on their way to a 3-1 lead. Silvia was up next for the Saints before Burke earned her hat trick before the end of the opening quarter. Despite the solid offense, Ithaca brought a 6-4 lead into the second frame.

O'Neil and Powell each scored goals in the second frame, but the Bombers scored six goals to bring the score to 12-7 at the half.

Raelynn Bovenzi started the game and made four saves in 30 minutes of action before being relieved in net by Courtney Lynn at the half.



With the game in flux, the Scarlet and Brown locked up on the defensive end to help cut into the Ithaca lead. Powell scored just 47 seconds into the second half to set the tone and was followed by an O'Neil goal minutes later.

The Bombers regained their five-goal lead with goals from Megan Motkowski and Caroline Wise, but the Scarlet and Brown came charging back with three goals of their own to end the third quarter. Laura Wells scored a man-up goal in the onslaught that was bookended by Burke goals at 5:27 and :21 of the frame.

Ithaca got off to a hot start in the fourth quarter as Wise scored 37 seconds into the quarter. However, the Scarlet and Brown's momentum kept them rolling to bring them within one goal following Silvia and Burke goals. Then, Wise scored once again to extend the lead to 16-14 with just over nine minutes to go.

Jamie Allan cut the lead in half with a goal, then O'Neil scored a clutch goal at the four minute and 41 second mark to knot the game up. The game came down to an Ithaca clear with less than 90 seconds on the clock that was cut down by O'Neil, who caused a turnover. The senior finished off the play scooping up the ground ball and ripping a shot past Kayla Howley to give the Saints their game-winning goal.

Lynn, who came on in relief in the second half, made five huge saves to earn her first win of the season. Lexi Held started in net for the Bombers stopping three shots in 43:20 of action. Howley earned the loss for Ithaca despite making a trio of huge saves late in the contest for teh bombers.

Ithaca outshot St. Lawrence 33-28, and 25-24 in shots on goal. The Bombers also edged the Saints in ground balls 19-17.

The Scarlet and Brown will have short rest as the team looks to keep the ball rolling tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. when the Saints take on the No. seventh-ranked William Smith Herons at the North Country Field at Hall-Leet Stadium.