ROCHESTER, NY – The RIT women's lacrosse team (5-2) won its second consecutive contest, knocking off Nazareth College (4-3) by a score of 13-10 at RIT's Turf Field on a cool, misty Tuesday afternoon.

The Tigers jumped out to an 8-5 lead at the half, and after a quick burst by Nazareth in the second half, would extend their lead to 13-8 before holding on for the win.

Nazareth out-shot RIT 31-23 (20-8 in the second half) and the Golden Flyers picked up 18 ground balls, compared to 17 by the Tigers. The Tigers won 17 of the 27 draw controls, including 13 in the first half. RIT was 13-for-15 on clears, while Nazareth was 14-for-18. The Tigers were also 3-for-5 on free position attempts, while Nazareth was 4-for-12.

"This was a huge win for us to finish our non-conference schedule on a high note," said RIT head coach Jeff McGuigan. "I thought we played great on both sides of the ball throughout. We have a lot of work to do, but we looking forward to opening Liberty League play this weekend."

Emily Livecchi (Rochester, NY/Our Lady of Mercy) (two goals and two assists) and Sydney DaCosta (New Bedford, MA/Bishop Stang) (three goals and one assist) led RIT with four points each, while five other Tigers registered points. Sammy Ward (Baldwinsville, NY/C.W. Baker) had three goals and eight draw controls, while Alanna Fallone (Penfield, NY/Penfield) had a goal and an assist, and Nicole Bingo (Webster, NY/Webster Schroeder) scored a pair of goals. Brooks Melnyk (East Amherst, NY/Williamsville East) and Maegan Schmauder (Franklin, MA/Franklin) also scored. Schmauder led the team with a pair of caused turnovers.

Rebekah Snitkoff (Fairfield, CT/Fairfield Warde) got the start in goal, making 11 saves for her fifth consecutive victory to start the season. The first-year goalkeeper made nine of her 11 stops in the second half to preserve the win.

Kate Rothrock had two goals and two assists to lead the Golden Flyers, while Jamie Martin and Gabbie Charles had a team-high three goals apiece. Katie Carroll and Bridget Collins both had a goal, and Lily Aldrich and Kellie Byrne added assists for the Golden Flyers.

Brianna Rizzari started in net, making five saves on 17 shots for Nazareth, before Mackenzie Corbett came in during the second half, and made one save.

RIT got on the board just 17 seconds into the game, as Fallone tallied her 15th goal of the year. Nazareth's Charles and RIT's Ward then exchanged free position goals, before Charles rattled off two more quick goals to give the Golden Flyers a 3-2 lead, just 7:21 into the game.

The Tigers took control, scoring four straight goals in a span 4:19, two from Livecchi, to take a 6-3 lead. Nazareth would cut the lead to 6-5, as Martin and Carroll cut the RIT lead to one. DaCosta and Bingo added goals in the final 3:28 of the half, giving the Tigers an 8-5 lead heading into halftime.

After Martin made it 8-6 just 41 seconds into the second half, Ward and Schmauder would tally back-to-back goals 1:24 apart, making it 10-6 Tigers. Nazareth would push back later in the half, as Collins and Rockroth would cut RIT's lead to 10-8 with 13:07 left.

RIT would put the game away with another three-goal run in a span of 2:32, as DaCosta, Ward, and Melnyk would stretch the lead back to five with 6:13 to go. Martin and Rockroth scored two goals inside the final five minutes for the Golden Flyers, but Snitkoff and the RIT defense held on for the victory.

Nazareth leads the all-time series between the two schools, 18-6. The Tigers have won two of the last three meetings.
 
RIT opens Liberty League conference play this weekend, traveling to Rensselaer for a game on Friday at 4 p.m., while heading right to Skidmore on Saturday at 2 p.m.