Men's Lacrosse | 4/1/2016 1:36:00 PM

ITHACA, N.Y. — The nationally-ranked Ithaca College men's lacrosse team is riding high following Wednesday night's 18-12 win over rival Cortland under the lights at Higgins Stadium.

The Bombers (8-1, 1-0 Empire 8) dominated for much of the game against the Red Dragons (3-5) and earned their first win over Cortland since an 11-8 decision March 21, 2009.

Now Ithaca, ranked 20th in the country in the latest Nike/Lacrosse Magazine top 20 poll, faces another stiff challenge when it hosts No. 16 Stevens Institute of Technology (8-2, 1-0) at 12 p.m. Saturday in a matchup of nationally-ranked squads.

In the win over Cortland, senior Scott Sidnam, a two-time Empire 8 Goalie of the Year, made a career-high 20 saves to consistently turn away the Red Dragons.

The potent Ithaca offense, which entered play ranked third nationally averaging 16.38 goals per game, was led by freshman Josh Della Puca and junior Jack Shumway, who scored four goals apiece. Sophomore Jake Cotton added five points (one goal, four assists) in the win.

Senior Michael Walker, junior John Januszkiewicz, and sophomore Stephen Morrell each had two goals apiece. Senior Eli Gobrecht was a force on defense, causing a team-high five turnovers while scooping up a season-high 12 ground balls on the day.

The teams traded goals in the first half and Cortland led 6-5 halfway through the second before Ithaca responded with five unanswered goals to seize control. Della Puca scored twice and Januszkiewicz, Morrell, and Shumway added goals to give the Bombers a 10-6 lead with 11:37 remaining in the third.

Leading 15-8, Cortland scored three straight to pull within 15-11 with 6:51 remaining in the fourth, but Walker scored on a man-up goal and Shumway and Morrell added tallies 36 seconds apart to clinch the win for IC. Ithaca scored 15 or more goals for the sixth straight time, and eighth time in nine games.

Ithaca has outscored the competition 106-34 during the winning streak, and 149-47 on the year.

The Bombers will bring one of the nation's most potent offenses into the game. IC is currently ranked third nationally in scoring offense, averaging 16.56 goals per game.

Cotton, an attacker, leads the team in points (46), goals (18), and assists (28) while starting all nine games. He has scored three or more points in every game and has five games of six or more points. Cotton ranks fourth in the country in assists per game (3.11).

Cotton is one of 10 student-athletes with 10 or more points this year. Sophomore Kaelan Fitzpatrick, who scored a career-best six goals in an 18-4 win over Utica March 26, is second on the team in points (22) and assists (8).

Shumway is third in points with 21 (15G, 6A), followed by sophomore David Drozjock (13G, 7A), Januszkiewicz (12G, 6A), Della Puca (12G, 5A), and Morrell (15G, 1A).

A balanced Bomber attack also is getting solid contributions from Walker (11G, 5A), freshman Will Witter (9G, 6A), and freshman Connor Hulme (7G, 6A).

Defensively, the Bombers boast the nation's stingiest unit as Ithaca has surrendered only 47 goals in nine games (5.2 goals per game).

Sidnam, the two-time Empire 8 Goalie of the Year, currently leads all of Division III in goals-against average (5.07), and ranks second in saves percentage (.673).

Gobrecht, Ithaca's All-American defender, leads the team in caused turnovers (32) and is third in the country in caused turnovers per game (3.56). Gobrecht also leads the team in groundballs (44).

The Rivalry: Ithaca owns a 7-6 advantage all-time against the Ducks dating to 2007. However, Stevens has outscored Ithaca 144-122 since the first meeting. Six of the 13 games between Ithaca and Stevens have been decided by three goals or less. The Bombers and Ducks have met in the Empire 8 playoffs in each of the last four seasons, with Ithaca going 3-1. Ithaca bested Stevens 16-12 in the 2015 regular-season finale, then held off the Ducks 11-9 in the E8 semifinals as Januszkiewicz scored four goals with one assist, and James Manilla added 2G with 1A. Manilla added five groundballs, and Gobrecht added six groundballs with three caused turnovers in the win.

Coverage: The game will be streamed online here, and will be broadcast on radio here.

Scouting the Ducks: Stevens is coming off an 8-7 road win against Montclair State Wednesday. Matt Ferentini and John Boutureira each scored two goals for the Ducks, who trailed 7-6 in the fourth quarter before Stevens closed the game scoring the final two goals, including Ferentini's game-winning goal with 3:21 to play. … This will be Stevens' third game against a nationally-ranked opponent. The Ducks dropped a 14-13 decision to No. 1 and two-time defending national champion Tufts March 5, and defeated No. 10 Endicott College 16-15 Feb. 28. … The Ducks are led by Connor O'Shea (13G, 20A), Ferentini (24G, 7A), Max Bailey (19G, 12A), Andrew Scrutchfield (20G, 10A), and Tommy Dawson (8G, 10A). Additionally, Jan Schoonen has collected 40 groundballs while causing 12 turnovers, while Tim Fair has scooped up 24 groundballs while causing 21 turnovers. … Stevens has outscored its opponents by an average margin of 14.3 to 8.6. The Ducks are outscoring their opponents 76-40 in the first half of games, compared to 66-46 in the second half.

National Polls: Ithaca is ranked 20th in the Nike/Lacrosse Magazine top 20 poll, and is among schools receiving votes in the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) poll. Stevens is ranked 16th in both polls.