MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – For the second-straight season, the Pomona-Pitzer lacrosse team is advancing to the NCAA Division III Elite Eight. The No. 11 Sagehens went toe to toe with the No. 8 Ithaca Bombers on Saturday afternoon and surged to a 17-9 victory, using an 11 goal second half to solidify the victory. Pomona-Pitzer is the only West Coast team in Division III to reach the Elite Eight and their victory today is the first win over a top-10 opponent. Pomona-Pitzer outshot the Bombers 37-23 and earned the ground ball edge with 19 to Ithaca's 15. Ruby Loesch had a stellar day in goal, recording a .471 save percentage with eight saves on the day while allowing just nine goals. The Sagehens are now 19-1 on the season and will be back action tomorrow at 1:00 PM EST when they face the No. 1 Middlebury College Panthers. 
 
How It Happened
The Ithaca Bombers won the opening draw control, but it was Pomona-Pitzer who struck first as Taylor Glanville found the back of the net just over three minutes into the contest. Ithaca quickly countered, tying things at 1-1 44 seconds after Glanville's goal and later took a 2-1 lead 40 seconds later. Fiona Lewis found the equalizer for the Sagehens shortly after the Bombers goal, tying things once again, this time at 2-2. The Bombers and Sagehens fought back and forth for the remainder of the quarter but both teams held each other scoreless, ending the first quarter tied at 2-2. 
 
Ithaca won the draw to start the second quarter and scored off a free position shot to make it 3-2 but the rest of the quarter belonged to the Sagehens attack as they closed out the quarter on a 4-0 run. Fiona Lewis got things started with the tying goal with 9:03 on the clock before Taylor Glanville and Hannah Gough both found the back of the net to make it 5-3. Fiona Lewis continued her scoring ways, earning a hat trick in the second quarter to make it 6-3 at the halftime break. 
 
Out of the halftime break, the two teams traded goals with Hannah Gough scoring in the opening minute of the second half before Shoshi Henderson and Fiona Lewis scored to give Pomona-Pitzer a 9-5 lead. Following the Sagehens' ninth goal of the contest, the Bombers called a timeout to regroup and managed to cut the lead to 9-6 out of the break. The contest went scoreless for just over five minutes before Taylor Glanville found the back of the net once again, putting the Sagehens up 10-6 heading into the fourth quarter. 
 
The Sagehens stormed through the fourth quarter, giving the Ithaca Bombers more than they could handle. Chloe Denhart and Grace Warner both scored early in the fourth to make it 12-6. The Bombers managed to respond with a goal of their own, but the Sagehens added some late game insurance with a 4-0 run with goals from Hannah Gough, Shoshi Henderson, Sydney Landauer, and Taylor Glanville, putting the Sagehens up 16-7. Ithaca was able to end the run with a goal before the Sagehens saw a goal from Shoshi Henderson to make it 17-8. Ithaca managed to have score the last game but Pomona-Pitzer was the one to rush the field at the final buzzer as they earned the 17-9 victory over the Ithaca Bombers to advance to the 2024 NCAA Division III Elite Eight for the second-straight season.