Men's Lacrosse | 5/6/2016 1:13:00 PM

TOURNAMENT CENTRAL
ITHACA, N.Y. — The players on the nationally-ranked Ithaca College men's lacrosse team have had one goal on their minds all season: win the Empire 8 postseason championship and secure an automatic qualifier into the NCAA Division III tournament.

The Bombers, the No. 1 ranked team in the country, are one step away from winning the program's fourth conference title, and first since 2014.

Top-seeded Ithaca (17-1) will face third-seeded Stevens Institute of Technology (14-4) at 4:30 p.m. Saturday at Higgins Stadium, with a spot in the NCAA Division III tournament on the line.

Ithaca advanced into the championship thanks to Wednesday's 17-6 home win over No. 4 St. John Fisher College, while Stevens earned a 21-18 win over No. 2 Nazareth in the other semifinal.

Junior Jack Shumway and sophomore Jake Cotton each tallied seven points, while senior All-American defender Eli Gobrecht caused five turnovers and scooped up four groundballs in the semifinal to power the Bombers to their 15th consecutive win.

Ithaca last won the conference championship in 2014, winning a first-round NCAA game before falling in the second round.

Follow all of the action using our tournament central page, including links to live video and live stats, here.

"We all have had the same common goal from the beginning of the season, to win the Empire 8 championship. That's every team's goal in the Empire 8 to win the championship and keep playing in May," said Shumway, who leads the team in goals scored (47) and is second in points (61).

"This time of year you want to make sure you're playing your best lacrosse all the time. As a team, we know what we want to do and what we have to do to keep climbing each stair that is in front of us."

Shumway scored five goals with two assists in equaling his career-high for points in a game, and Cotton added four goals with three assists to set a career-high for points in the semifinal win.

Freshman Conner Crosson scored three goals, and sophomore Stephen Morrell added one goal with two assists to spark Ithaca, ranked No. 1 in the country by both the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) and Nike/Lacrosse Magazine.

Junior Grant Osadchey collected a career-high 11 groundballs while winning 68.4 percent of faceoffs (13 of 19) in the semifinal as the Bombers matched the 2008 squad (17-3) for most wins in a season while advancing into the conference championship for the fifth straight year.

IC defeated then-No. 16th ranked Stevens 17-7 April 2 at Higgins Stadium as junior John Januszkiewicz scored six points (two goals, four assists), and Shumway (3G, 2A) and Cotton (4G, 1A) added five points each in the win.

Gobrecht collected nine groundballs while matching his season-high with six caused turnovers as the Bombers forced the Ducks into 28 turnovers.

"It's do or die now, win or go home. That's our motto and that's what we're living by now. Whenever we play slow we seem to turn the ball over, it's just that simple," Cotton said of the Bombers' philosophy on offense.

"We'll be ready for anything that Stevens throws at us. We're getting better every day, defensively, offensively, and with our transition game. Offensively, all six guys on the field are capable of scoring and our offense isn't just about one player. Whoever is on the field can do it all and we have faith in everyone to do their job and help us win as a team."

The Bombers, who lead the nation in scoring offense (17.50 goals per game) have scored 15 or more goals in 17 of 18 games during the 2016 season.

Cotton (38 goals, 47 assists, 85 points) leads IC in points and assists, followed by Shumway (42G, 12A), Januszkiewicz (39G, 16A), Walker (24G, 14A), Morrell (28G, 8A), Della Puca (24G, 12A), and sophomore Kaelan Fitzpatrick (19G, 14A).

Defensively, Ithaca ranks fourth in goals allowed per game (5.83). Gobrecht, an All-American defender, leads the team in caused turnovers (48) and is second in groundballs (81), while Osadchey leads in groundballs (93) and faceoff percentage (136-for-214, .636 percent).

Sidnam, who has gone 17-1 this year, has allowed only 6.02 goals per game with a .631 saves percentage. He ranks second nationally in save percentage and is third in goals-against average.

With a familiar opponent standing between the Bombers and their fourth conference championship, Shumway said he is confident the men's lacrosse team hasn't reached its peak.

"Our best is still to come," Shumway said. "We have to throw 60 minutes together every game for the rest of the season. You never want to say your best lacrosse has been played yet because we preach this 'no ceiling' mentality. We don't think we've reached our ceiling yet."

Stevens has outscored its opponents by an average of 16.28 to 8.83 on the year, including 162-74 in the first and second quarters.

Andrew Scrutchfield (41G, 23A) leads the Ducks in scoring, followed by Max Bailey (32G, 28A), Matt Ferentini (42G, 11A), Connor O'Shea (25G, 28A), and Tommy Dawson (18G, 18A).

Defensively, Carson White has a 13-4 record in the cage, allowing 9.13 goals per game with a .530 saves percentage.