Men's Lacrosse | 5/13/2016 3:40:00 PM

NCAA DIVISION III INTERACTIVE BRACKET

ITHACA, N.Y. — With the target of being the No. 1-ranked team in the country, the members of the Ithaca College men's lacrosse team know each game they're going to get the very best from every opponent they face, especially during the ongoing NCAA Division III tournament.

The No. 1 Bombers (19-1) embrace that challenge and are ready for the next step in their quest for a national championship, which occurs at 1 p.m. Saturday when Montclair State comes to Higgins Stadium for a second-round contest.

Fans can watch the game with live streaming video and with live stats.

Ithaca took care of business during Wednesday's first-round NCAA game, dispatching of Morrisville State 24-7 to earn the program's first NCAA victory since 2014 — a 13-4 triumph over Montclair State.

In Wednesday's win over the Mustangs, the champions of the North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC), junior John Januszkiewicz matched his career-high with eight points and the Bombers used a 13-0 second-quarter run to advance.

Januszkiewicz scored five goals with three assists, classmate Jack Shumway added four goals with two assists, and sophomore Stephen Morrell scored a career-high five goals as Ithaca (19-1) extended its school-record winning streak to 17 games.

Sophomore Jake Cotton scored three goals with two assists, sophomore Greg Drillock handed out three assists, and junior Grant Osadchey collected seven groundballs and won 72.3 percent of faceoffs (16 of 22) in the dominant win.

Senior All-American defender Eli Gobrecht collected five groundballs, caused three turnovers, and scored one goal with one assist as IC set a season-high for goals in a game.

With the win, Ithaca, making its 13th appearance in NCAA's, improves to 11-12 all-time in NCAA tournament action.

Ithaca is ranked No. 1 in the country by both the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) and Nike/Lacrosse Magazine after setting a school-record for wins in a season.

Up next for Ithaca: a date with a Montclair State team that knocked off No. 18 Keene State 10-7 in a first-round showdown Wednesday afternoon, the program's first NCAA win in eight tries.

The Bombers, champions of the Empire 8 conference, lead the nation in scoring offense (17.70 goals/game) and have scored 15 or more goals in 19 of 20 games.

Montclair State, champions of the Skyline Conference Tournament, brings a nine-game winning streak into Saturday's clash.

Scouting the Bombers (19-1, 8-0 Empire 8):  ROSTER/SCHEDULE/STATS

• Ithaca boasts 11 student-athletes with 20 or more points, led by Cotton, who has set the program record for assists in a season with 50. Cotton has scored 93 points with 43 goals and he needs two more points to break IC's single-season points record.
• Shumway leads the team with 55 goals and has added 16 assists for 71 points. He is followed by Januszkiewicz (40G, 18A), Morrell (34G, 8A), senior Michael Walker (24G, 16A), freshman Josh Della Puca (25G, 14A), and sophomore Kaelan Fitzpatrick (22G, 14A).
• Walker, Januszkiewicz, Shumway and sophomore Winston Wenham earned spots on the first-team All-Empire 8. Cotton, Fitzpatrick, and Morrell earned second-team All-Empire 8 honors.
• Defensively, the Bombers are sixth nationally in scoring defense (6.15 goals/game) and are led by senior Scott Sidnam, the Empire 8 Goalie of the Year for the third time in his decorated career.
• Sidnam, who has an 18-1 record in the cage this year, has allowed 6.28 goals per game with a .626 saves percentage. He ranks second nationally in saves percentage and is sixth in goals-against average.
• Gobrecht, the Empire 8 Player of the Year, leads the team in caused turnovers (59) and ranks ninth nationally in caused turnovers per game (2.95). He is second on the team with groundballs (91), trailing only Osadchey, who has 105 groundballs while winning 65.4 percent of faceoffs (174 of 266).
• The Bombers are led by longtime head coach Jeff Long, the Empire 8 Coach of the Year who has won a school-record 298 games during his 29-year career on South Hill.

 
Scouting the Red Hawks (13-6, 6-0 Empire 8):  ROSTER/SCHEDULE/STATS

• Montclair State advanced with a 10-7 win over Keene State Wednesday as Brett Mangan scored three goals with one assist, Don Finn added two goals, and Lucas Jones made 15 saves as Montclair State held Keene State, the second-highest scoring team in the country, 10 goals below its season scoring average. Keene State led 7-6 late in the third, but the Red Hawks closed the game on a 4-0 run to win their first NCAA tournament game in eight tries.
• Montclair State is outscoring its opponents 12.37-8.68, including 67-39 in the first quarter, and 61-31 in the second quarter. The Red Hawks have outscored foes 63-50 in the third, but have been outscored 45-43 in the fourth quarter.
• The Red Hawks enjoyed a big advantage at the "X", winning 67.7 percent of faceoffs (304 of 145). Blasé Mantineo is the leader in faceoffs, winning 70.9 percent (283 of 399) and he leads the team in groundballs (124). He is tied for fourth nationally in faceoff winning percentage.
• Five student-athletes recorded 38 or more points this year, led by Mangan (44G, 34A), Zach Schreck (38G, 20A), Finn (30G, 28), Brady Wulster (36G, 11A), and Connor Cunningham (21G, 17A).
• Defensively, Jones has gone 11-5 with an 8.75 goals-against average and a .516 saves percentage.
• Ryan Young leads the team in caused turnovers (37) and is second in groundballs (81), while Ryan Totin is second in caused turnovers (25) and is fourth in groundballs (53). Steve Danyluk is third in groundballs (59) and caused turnovers (21).