The men’s lacrosse program at Ithaca has posted a record of 523-267 (.662 winning percentage) in the 57 years that lacrosse has been a varsity sport. The sport was introduced at Ithaca by Joe Corcoran through an intramural program in 1946.
Under the direction of Harold Hatch and with Corcoran’s help, lacrosse became a club sport in 1949 and play continued through 1951. After a hiatus the sport was resumed in 1965.
Corcoran eventually became one of the most respected high school lacrosse coaches in the nation. He built powerhouse programs in Corning, and in 1987 he was inducted into the United States Lacrosse Hall of Fame.
The club team was revived in 1965 thanks to the efforts of Ken Gerbino, an incoming freshman, and Carlo LoVecchio, who served as the team’s coach. Bill Ware took over as coach in 1966 and the sport attained varsity status a year later. The program’s first game was a 9-7 win over RIT on April 8, 1967.
Ware coached the varsity team for 11 years, posting an 80-30 record. Ithaca had winning seasons every year under Ware. The Bombers won the Northern New York Lacrosse Division Championship in 1970 and 1973, and shared the title in 1969, 1971 and 1972. The 1973 team also won the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) lacrosse title.
Among the early stars for the Bombers were goalie Tim Cullen and attack Ted Greves. Cullen played in all 25 games from 1969-71, posting a .717 save percentage, a school record that still stands. His 5.60 goals-against average ranks second all-time. Greves, a two-time small-college All-American, is Ithaca’s career scoring leader. Upon graduation he held 10 school records, including a goals-per-game average of 5.5 (set during the 1973 season) and a career scoring average of 4.21.
Another top offensive threat from Ithaca’s early seasons was Ithaca Hall of Fame member Jim Shaw, who scored 193 points to rank seventh on the career scoring list.
John Mouradian, who averaged almost three goals per game from 1974-76, is still involved in lacrosse. He has served as the general manager of the Buffalo Bandits of the Major Indoor Lacrosse League (MILL), now the National Lacrosse League, for three seasons. The Bandits captured two league titles during his tenure. Mouradian also served as general manager of the Ontario Raiders and San Jose Stealth and was named head coach and general manager of the Philadelphia Wings in 2011. He was inducted into the National Lacrosse League Hall of Fame in 2008.
Al Wolski became the head coach in 1978 and led the team through the 1981 season. The Bombers participated in the NCAA tournament three times and compiled a record of 41-15 during his leadership. In 1978 the Bombers won their first NCAA playoff game, beating host Salisbury State.
The 1980 team reached the Division III semifinals, thanks to a 15-14 overtime win over Washington (Md.). The Bombers were ranked third in the nation, finishing with a 12-3 record. That team scored 274 goals, averaging 18.3 per game; both are school records.
Wolski’s teams featured Barry Cohen, a three-time All-American and Ithaca’s third-leading career scorer, and Rob Serling, who set school records with 120 career assists and 46 assists (now ranks second) in one season. In 1979 Steve Allison became Ithaca’s first All-American goalie.
Ray Rostan coached Ithaca for two seasons and posted a 15-10 record. His 1983 team reached the NCAA playoffs after a seven-game winning streak during the regular season.
Kevin Spencer took over as head coach in 1984 and posted a four-season record of 23-26. Derek Keenan was a standout performer during the mid-1980s. He ranks fourth on Ithaca’s career goals list and took his game to the professional level as a forward for the Buffalo Bandits. He played professionally for two years before retiring at the end of the 1991 season.
Goalie Pete Reardon collected a then school-record 661 saves in 43 career games from 1983-86. He now ranks second all-time.
The 1988 season was the first for current head coach Jeff Long. Long guided Ithaca to the 1991 Independent College Athletic Conference (ICAC) championship and the NCAA tournament. In 1992 the Bombers won the Empire Athletic Association (EAA) crown and again made a trip to the NCAA tournament. In 1993 Ithaca won the ECAC Upstate New York title.
Three-time All-American goalie Dennis Butler and two-time All-Americans defensemen Brian Dattellas, Scott MacCaull and Mark Maietta, midfielder Jim Bianchi and attack Joe Hope — played their entire careers under Long. Attack Brian Ferry scored at least one point in every game of his career, and is fourth in career assists and 10th in career points. Butler holds Ithaca’s career and season saves records with 833 and 260, respectively.
The 1998 team, which returned to the NCAA playoffs after a five-year absence, featured All-Americans Hope, midfielder Steve Fiorelli and goalie Matt Troy. In 1999 attack E.J. MacCaull, brother of Scott MacCaull, was the only Bomber to receive All-America honors. All-American midfielder Dennis Juleff helped lead the Bombers to an 11-3 record in 2000. In 2001 the Bombers posted a program-best 13 wins and returned to the NCAA playoffs, defeating Messiah in the first round. In 2002 Ithaca was again crowned conference champion and advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament.
During the 2003 season, Juleff earned his fourth straight All-America honor and became the only Ithaca student athlete, in any sport, to be voted to an All-American team all four years of his career. Goalie Ryan Martin, attack Nick Mayer and defender Tim Riley also received All-America honors.
The Bombers reached the NCAA tournament and broke the school record for wins each season in 2007 and 2008. The 2007 team was led by second-team All-American goalie Dennis Butler. First-team picks Matt Nelligan and Brandon Rose, the Division III LSM of the year, paced the 2008 squad that made it to the NCAA semifinals.
In 2009, close defender Neth Weidemann became Ithaca’s sixth three-time All-American as Ithaca compiled a 14-2 record. A 2011 graduate, goalkeeper David Gal, earned all-America status in 2010. Midfielder Jake Long and defenseman Adam Wacenske tallied USILA Honorable Mention All-America honors in 2013.
Ithaca, who owns three Empire 8 crowns, has competed in the Empire 8 Championship Tournament for 13 straight years and has advanced to the championship contest on ten occasions, including from 2012-2016. The Bombers have had a winning record in the league all 14 years that the Empire 8 has existed.
The 2016 season was one for the record books for the Bombers. The team set a new single-season mark for victories, reaching the 20 wins for the first time in program history. Ithaca also earned its first No. 1 national ranking from the USILA. IC players earned numerous postseason accolades, headlined by defender Eli Gobrecht and goalie Scott Sidnam. The former was named Empire 8 Player of the Year and the William C. Stiles Memorial Outstanding Defensive Player of the Year in Division III. Sidnam brought home his third E8 Goalie of the Year award in addition to being named the Ensign C. Markland Kelly, Jr. Award as the nation's Most Outstanding Goalie of the Year in NCAA Division III.
In total, the Bombers had nine players earn All-Conference accolades, while seven Ithaca student-athletes took home All-America honors from the USILA. Sophomore attacker Jake Cotton set new single-season program records with 99 points and 53 assists. Junior attacker Jack Shumway posted the third-most goals for a single-season in program history with 56 in 2016. Sidnam moved into second all-time with 710 saves, only the second player in school history to amass over 700 saves for his career. The Bombers advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals for the third time in school history, before falling to eventual NCAA Runner-Up Tufts.
The Bombers moved to the Liberty League in 2018, and posted a 16-4 record in the inaugural season as IC reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament. In 2020, Ithaca played just five games before the season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The abbreviated 2020 season was highlighted by an upset victory over defending national champion Cabrini. The Bombers entered a condensed 2021 season with a mix of experience and youth, and earned a spot in the Liberty League Tournament for the third consecutive time since joining the league.
Ithaca finished the 2022 season with a 10-6 record but failed to qualify for the Liberty League Tournament as the Bombers suffered a heartbreaking 13-12 loss to RPI in the final game of the regular season. Jake Erickson finished as the leading point and goals scorer. He netted 42 goals, assisted 31 for a total of 73 points, which was the fifth most within the Liberty League.
For the second-straight season both Demetri Lowry and Jake Erickson were named All-Americans by the United States Lacrosse Association (USILA). Erickson was once again the leading point scorer, tallying 62 points on 30 goals and 32 assists. Lowry was a key piece to a strong defensive unit, posting a team-high 31 caused turnovers. He also tallied 52 ground balls, good enough for the most of any defensive player on the team and the second most overall. At the conclusion of the academic year, Ithaca College Hall of Fame head coach Jeff Long announced his retirement after 36 seasons with the program. Long is the all-time winningest coach in program history with an overall record of 362-182 and ranks 11th all-time across all divisions in collegiate lacrosse.
Tommy Pearce was hired in July 2023 as the program's sixth head coach in its illustrious history. The Bombers put together an 8-8 record, which included a season-opening 12-10 victory over eventual NCAA qualifier St. John Fisher University.
A total of 14 Ithaca athletes and two coaches connected with the lacrosse program are members of the Ithaca College Athletic Hall of Fame. The members, with their year of election, are Edgar Bredbenner Jr. ’50 (1992), Barry Cohen ’80 (2009), Joe Corcoran ’50 (1978), Ted Greves ’74 (1983), Jack Hantz ’51 (2002), Joe Hope '98 (2018), Al Howell ’77 (1991), Derek Keenan ’87 (2002), Jeff Long (2010), John Mouradian ’75 (2000), Tom Schoen ’71 (2011), Jim Shaw ’74 (2003), Dan Sheehan '95 (2019), Barry Smith ’72 (1992), Bill Ware (1988) and Tony Wise ’73 (1993).
7/11/2024
