ITHACA, N.Y. -- The 11th-ranked men's lacrosse team recorded a 15-10 win over 26th-ranked Hartwick Saturday afternoon. Ithaca improves to 12-2 on the year and 5-0 in the Empire 8, while Hartwick drops to 7-5 overall and 3-3 in conference play. The Bombers extended their conference record to 21 consecutive Empire 8 wins and clinched a home game in the semifinals of the Empire 8 Championship Tournament.

 

Junior attack Matt Nelligan (Pingree School/Rowley, Mass.) recorded five goals in the game, including the 100^th of his collegiate career. He is the 12th Bomber to score 100 goals and now ranks 21st on Ithaca’s career scoring list with 128 points. Nelligan needs just one point to move into the top-20 on the career scoring list.

 

Ithaca took control early by scoring the contests first five goals. Nelligan opened the scoring with a man-up goal 1:05 into the game and junior long stick Brandon Rose (Rush-Henrietta/Rochester) scored just 16-seconds later to make it a 2-0 game.

 

Junior midfielder Kevin Bush (Arapahoe [Colo.]/East Point, Fla.) and junior attack Logan Bobzien (Arapahoe/Centennial, Colo.) added two goals 1:04 apart midway through the period and sophomore midfielder Mike Giunta (B. Reed Henderson/West Chester, Pa.) capped the run with his third goal of the year at the 6:45 mark of the first quarter.

 

The Hawks answered with a 5-1 run, cutting the Bombers lead to one goal at 6-5 with 2:58 remaining in the first half. Bush netted his second goal of the game 53-seconds later to give Ithaca a 7-5 lead at halftime.

 

Junior midfielder Craig Lepiane (West Irondequoit/Rochester) opened the second half scoring at the 7:22 mark of the third quarter and Hartwick responded with a pair of goals to cut the Bombers lead back to a goal at 8-7 with 2:51 remaining in the quarter. Nelligan capped off the third frame with a pair of goals in the final 35 seconds to give Ithaca a 10-7 advantage heading into the fourth quarter.

 

The Bombers scored four of the last five goals in the game to secure the win. Nelligan closed the scoring with his 43rd goal of the season with 30-seconds left on the clock. Lepiane assisted on Nelligan’s 100th goal as a Bomber.

 

Bobzien and sophomore Tim Pfeffer (Penfield/Penfield) recorded one goal and three assists each, while Lepiane and sophomore attack Mike Cintineo (Honeoye Falls-Lima/Honeoye Falls) each finished with two goals and one assist. Bush also finished with two goals. Senior goalie Dennis Butler (Pleasantville/Pleasantville) tallied 15 saves for Ithaca, raising his school record total to 751 career saves. He now ranks ninth on the NCAA Division III career-saves list.

 

Ithaca returns to action on Monday, April 16, at 4 p.m. when it hosts Oneonta.