Men's Lacrosse | 5/17/2016 12:31:00 PM

NCAA INTERACTIVE BRACKET
ITHACA, N.Y. — The No. 1-ranked Ithaca College men's lacrosse team survived a tough challenge from Montclair State Saturday in the second round of the NCAA Division III tournament, relying on a stout defense to advance into the quarterfinals for the first time since 2008.

Despite being held six goals below its season-long scoring average, Ithaca found a way to hold off Montclair State 11-8 as an aggressive and opportunistic defense held the Red Hawks scoreless for the final 8:01 at Higgins Stadium.

Meanwhile, while freshman Josh Della Puca and juniors Cody Swing and John Januszkiewicz provided the offense, scoring goals as IC closed the game on a 3-0 run to advance into the Elite Eight of the tournament.

In enjoying the winningest season in program history, Ithaca (20-1) has shown an ability to win with its high-flying offense (leads the country in scoring offense with 17.38 goals per game) and with its stingy defense (sixth-best in the nation allowing 6.24 goals/game).

That versatility should serve the Bombers well as they are one of only two remaining Division III squads to boast both a top-10 scoring offense and a top-10 defense. The other: Salisbury (20-1), the top seed in the South bracket.

Ithaca, the No. 3 seed in the North, travels to fourth-ranked Tufts (18-2), the No. 2 seed in the North and the two-time defending national champions, for a 3:30 p.m. quarterfinal Wednesday afternoon at Bello Field in Medford, Mass.

Tickets are $6 for adults, and $4 for students and senior citizens, and they go on sale at the gate starting at 2:30 p.m. Fans can watch the game with live streaming video and with live stats.
 
In Saturday's win over the Red Hawks, the champions of the Skyline Conference (NEAC), Ithaca extended its school-record winning streak to 18 games while surviving what head coach Jeff Long described as a "15-round, heavyweight fight."

Senior Scott Sidnam, the three-time Empire 8 Goalie of the Year, made 10 saves to run his record to 20-1. Four of his saves, including several point-blank stops, came during the fourth. 

Januszkiewicz, Della Puca, and sophomores Jake Cotton and Stephen Morrell each scored two goals, while Cotton added a pair of assists and broke Ithaca's single-season points record in the win. Cotton upped his total to 97 (45 goals, 52 assists) to break Ted Graves' previous mark of 94 points.

With the win, Ithaca, making its 13th appearance in NCAA's, improved to 12-12 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.

Senior All-American defender Eli Gobrecht, the Empire 8 Player of the Year, picked up three groundballs while causing two turnovers as Ithaca forced Montclair State into 21 turnovers.

Up next for Ithaca: a date with Tufts, a three-time NCAA champion which dispatched Emmanuel (Mass.) College 25-5 in the first round, and defeated SUNY Cortland 19-6 in the second round.

The Bombers, champions of the Empire 8 conference, have scored 15 or more goals in 19 of 21 games, and have held their opponent to six or fewer goals in 12 of 21 games.

Tufts brings a seven-game winning streak into Saturday's clash and is 11-0 at home in 2016.

Tufts and Ithaca are two of the top scoring teams in the country with nearly identical goals per game averages. The Bombers average 17.38 goals per game, while the Jumbos score 17.35 goals per game. The difference comes on defense, where Tufts ranks 157th nationally (11.35 goals per game).

Here's what you need to know heading into the quarterfinal:

Scouting the Bombers (20-1, 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 52. Cotton has scored 97 points with 45 goals and is the program's all-time leader for single-season points. Cotton has scored five or more points in 13 games, including 10 straight from March 9-April 19.
• Shumway leads the team with 55 goals and has added 17 assists for 72 points. He is followed by Januszkiewicz (47G, 21A), Morrell (36G, 8A), senior Michael Walker (25G, 16A), Della Puca (27G, 14A), and sophomore Kaelan Fitzpatrick (22G, 15A).
• 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.
• Ten players scored a game-winning goal in 2016, led by Shumway (6) and Della Puca (4).
• IC holds a 29-17 edge in man-up goals, led by Walker (6), Cotton (5), Morrell (4), Januszkiewicz (3), and Della Puca (3).
• The Bombers are accustomed to fast starts, having outscored their foes 91-32 in the first quarter, 125-28 in the second, and 216-60 in the first half of games.
• Defensively, the Bombers are sixth nationally in scoring defense (6.24 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 a 19-1 record in the cage this year, has allowed 6.38 goals per game with a .622 saves percentage. He ranks second nationally in saves percentage and is fifth in goals-against average.
• Gobrecht, the Empire 8 Player of the Year, leads the team in caused turnovers (61) and ranks 15th nationally in caused turnovers per game (2.90). He is second on the team with groundballs (91), trailing only junior Grant Osadchey, who has 111 groundballs while winning 63.8 percent of faceoffs (180 of 282).
• Led by Osadchey, IC has won 60.3 percent of its faceoffs.
• The Bombers are led by longtime head coach Jeff Long, the Empire 8 Coach of the Year who has won a school-record 299 games during his 29-year career on South Hill.

 
Scouting the Jumbos (18-2, 9-1 NESCAC):  ROSTER/SCHEDULE/STATS

• Tufts and Cortland were all square at 5 in the second quarter before the Jumbos flexed their muscles, outscoring the Red Dragons 14-1 over the final 41:20 to advance into the quarterfinals for the seventh straight season.
• The Jumbos have won 12 straight NCAA games dating back to 2014 and are 24-5 in nine NCAA appearances overall.
• Tufts, the seven-time defending NESCAC champions, is in the NCAA's for the eighth consecutive season.
• Senior John Uppgren (5G, 4A vs. Cortland) became the third player in NCAA DIII history to score 400 career points (224G, 176A). He's in the midst of his third consecutive 100-point season and leads the team with 113 points (60G, 53A).
• Uppgren is one of eight Jumbos to score 30 or more points. Senior Ben Andreycak is second in points (81) and assists (41), followed by senior Jake Gillespie (55G, 20A), Garrett Clarke (33G, 19A), junior Zach Richman (48G, 1A), Kyle Howard-Johnson (33G, 13A), junior Austin Carbone (25G, 19A), and senior Connor Bilby (16G, 14A).
• The Jumbos have scored 44 goals and allowed only 10 goals in a pair of NCAA wins.
• Sixteen Jumbos have scored goals and 19 have pointCs in the first two NCAA games.
• The Jumbos have allowed 11 goals in 120 NCAA minutes for a 5.50 goals against average. Senior Alex Salazar stopped 14 of the 20 shots on goal against Cortland.
• Senior Conor Helfrich has won 27 of 39 faceoffs for a .692 percentage in NCAA action and sports a .616 faceoff percentage on the year (326-for-529). He has also collected 189 groundballs and ranks fifth nationally with 9.45 groundballs/game.
• Tufts, a three-time NCAA champion (2010, 2014, 2015), has won 16 straight NCAA games on Bello Field dating back to the 2009 season.