Williamsport, Pa. – The 25th-ranked Ithaca men's lacrosse team (1-0) opened its 2011 campaign with a convincing 11-5 road victory at Lycoming (1-3) on Thursday afternoon at the Shangraw Complex.

The Bombers built a solid 4-1 advantage in the first period of action before adding to it for a six-goal, 7-1 gap at the half. The Warriors held Ithaca scoreless in the third stint and brought the game to 7-4 with 10:46 remaining in the game, but Ithaca answered with four of the next five scores to finalize the game at 11-5.

Five Bombers notched two goals each en route to victory. Seniors Jay Lucas (Fox Lane/Bedford Hills) and Ryan Lowe (Fairport/Fairport) each tallied four points on two scores and a pair of assists. Three Ithaca players collected four ground balls apiece to lead the game while sophomore Marc Roberts (Hendrick Hudson/Montrose) forced a team-best two turnovers.

Senior Michael Silipo (Williston Northampton/Deerfield, Mass.) used a Lucas feed for the game's first goal just 2:15 into action. Lucas backed it with one of his own at the eight-minute mark before Lycoming got on the board at 6:16. Silipo netted his second score and Lowe his first on an assist from junior Tom Mongelli (Kinnelon/Kinnelon, N.J.) to lead 4-1 after the first frame.

Freshman Jake Long (Upper Dublin/Ft. Washington, Pa.) used a pass from classmate Pat Slawta (Walt Whitman/Bethesda, Md.) to notch his first career goal and open scoring in the second period at 10:05. Mongelli made it a 6-1 game on a Lowe assist before Lucas closed out the half with a man-up goal on a feed from Long.

The Warriors fought back within three with a trio of goals while holding Ithaca scoreless for 20 minutes of play. The Bombers regrouped as they pieced together two scores in less than a minute of action to put the game out of reach for the host squad.

Mongelli capitalized on a feed from junior Devin Weinshank (Long Beach/Long Beach) before Weinshank scored on a Lowe assist to make it a 9-4 game with nine minutes lingering on the clock.

Lycoming netted its last at 8:44 before Lowe and Weinshank each recorded their second goals of the game to finalize all scoring at 11-5.

Senior David Gal (Loomis Chafee (Conn.)/Amherst, Mass.) tallied the win in goal making 12 saves over the course of the 60-minute game.

Ithaca led the ground balls count, 36-24, and won 13 of 20 faceoffs led by senior Roniel Bencosme (Sleepy Hollow/Sleepy Hollow) who was 9-for-9. The Bombers made good on 13 of 14 clear attempts.

Ithaca will next travel to California for its spring break trip and face New England College on Monday, March 14 at 7 p.m. in San Diego.

Box Score