ELMIRA, N.Y. —Junior
John Januszkiewicz scored six points on four goals with two assists, and freshman Connner Crosson added four goals as the nationally-ranked Ithaca College men's lacrosse team secured the Empire 8 regular-season championship thanks to a 22-3 win over Elmira College Wednesday afternoon on Campus Field in Elmira, N.Y.
Six players logged three points in the win for No. 2 Ithaca (15-1, 7-0 Empire 8). Senior
Michael Walker tallied three goals, while junior
Jack Shumway, sophomores
Jake Cotton and
Stephen Morrell and freshman
Josh Della Puca finished with two goals and one assist apiece.
Sophomore
Greg Drillock scored once and handed out two goals and senior All-American defender
Eli Gobrecht caused five turnovers as the Bombers extended their school-record winning streak to 13 games.
Ithaca will host the Empire 8 postseason tournament, starting with a semifinal on Wednesday afternoon at Higgins Stadium. If the Bombers win, they will host the conference championship Saturday.
The winner of the Empire 8 postseason tournament earns an automatic qualifier into the NCAA Division III tournament. Ithaca last won the conference championship in 2014, winning a first-round NCAA game before falling in the second round.
Against the Soaring Eagles (4-8, 1-6), sophomore
Steven Landspurg won 91.7 percent of his faceoffs (11 of 12), junior
Grant Osadchey won 90.9 percent of his faceoffs (10 of 11) as Ithaca won 86.2 percent of faceoffs (25 of 29), setting a season-high for faceoff winning percentage.
Osadchey scooped up a game-high nine groundballs, Walker collected eight groundballs, while sophomore
Keith Morrissey and freshman
Owen Smith scooped up four groundballs apiece for the Bombers, who enjoyed a 58-32 edge in groundballs.
Freshmen
Connor Hulme and
Scott Glowner added two goals apiece for an Ithaca offense that equaled its highest scoring game of the year. The Bombers, who lead the nation in scoring offense (17.63 goals per game) have scored 15 or more goals in 15 of 16 games.
Senior
Scott Sidnam, the reigning United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) Division III North Defensive Player of the Week and Empire 8 Goalie of the Week, made one save and allowed one goal in 30 minutes of action to improve to 15-1. Junior
Jack Deragon also made two saves in 15 minutes in the cage for IC.
The Bombers enjoyed a 45-7 edge in shots on goal, and were 16 of 17 on clear attempts.
Ithaca scored seven first-quarter goals as Januszkiewicz and Walker scored twice while Cotton, Shumway, and Della Puca added goals in the opening stanza.
The Bombers held Elmira scoreless for the first 19:09 and took a 14-1 lead into halftime as seven different players scored in the second quarter: Drillock, Walker (man-up), Della Puca, Januszkiewicz, Cotton (man-up), Shumway, and Morrell.
Walker and Della Puca's tallies came 32 seconds apart for a 10-1 lead, while Januszkiewicz, Cotton, Shumway, and Morrell scored during a span of 2:16 to spark the Bombers into halftime.
IC scored seven unanswered goals in the third quarter and held Elmira scoreless for 37:06 bridging the second, third, and fourth quarters in holding an opponent to five or fewer goals for the 10th time in 16 games.
Ithaca closes out the regular season at Hartwick College at 12 p.m. Saturday.
