ITHACA, N.Y. -- The men’s lacrosse team (17-2) beat Western New England 13-12 in overtime in the NCAA quarterfinals Wednesday. With the win, the Bombers advance to the NCAA semifinals for the first time since 2002. Ithaca will plat at Cortland Sunday at 1 p.m. Junior Tim Pfeffer (Penfield/Penfield) scored with 46 seconds remaining in the first overtime, with the assist by sophomore Nic Heckman (Sparta/Sparta, N.J.) to give Ithaca the victory.

Western New England started the scoring and lead 3-1 after the first quarter. The Bombers responded by scoring the first five goals of the second quarter and took a 7-4 lead at the half. Senior Craig Lepiane (West Irondequoit/Rochester) scored two goals in the quarter.

Ithaca started the scoring in the third with a goal by Heckman, but Western New England responded with five straight goals to take a 9-8 lead. Ithaca answered right back, as goals by senior Kevin Bush (Arapahoe [Colo.]/St. George Island, Fla.) and Heckman near the end of the third quarter with two goals to give Ithaca back the lead at 10-9. Western New England traded goals with the Bombers twice in the fourth quarter and trailed by 12-11 after Ithaca scored with 3:15 left. The Golden Bears tallied a goal with 1:02 left in the game to send the game into overtime.

In overtime, the teams traded chances, with both goalies making saves. The Bomber man-down unit killed off a penalty late in the period and moved the ball into the offensive half of the field, setting the stage for Pfeffer’s heroics.

Lepiane led the Bombers with four goals and one assist in the game and Heckman tallied three goals and two assists, tying career-highs in goals and points. Senior Logan Bobzien (Arapahoe/Centennial, Colo.) recorded three points in the game, including two assists. Bush tallied two goals and Matt Nelligan (Pingree School/Rowley, Mass.) added a goal. Junior Chris Carman (Monte Vista/Alamo, Calif.) also recorded a goal for the Bombers.

Nelligan’s goal was his 50th of the season, his third 50-goal season. He is the first Bomber to have multiple 50- goal seasons. Bobzien now has 48 assists on the season, setting a program single-season record.

Freshman David Gal (Loomis Chafee (Conn.)/Amherst, Mass.) recorded his seventh win of the season, tying a career-high with 11 saves. Starter Ben Connery (Homer/Homer) made eight saves for the Bombers.

This will be Ithaca’s fifth time in the semifinal round of the NCAA Tournament. The Bombers will face Cortland on Sunday, May 18. Site and time are to be announced