TAMPA, Fla. – The fourth-ranked Ithaca College men's lacrosse team concluded its spring trip to the Sunshine State in dominant fashion on Friday, March 17, as the Bombers downed Western New England 19-3 at the complex of the University of Tampa. The win extended IC's winnings streak to 6-0 to begin the season.
 
The Bombers were paced by junior midfielder Jake Cotton, who finished with seven points on three goals and four assists. The third year finishes the spring trip with 13 points after tallying six points on two goals and four helpers against No. 19 Bowdoin earlier in the week.
 
Sophomore attacker Will Witter posted a dominant performance in the contest, scoring six goals on 11 total shots against the Golden Bears. Senior attacker Jack Shumway finished with four points on three goals and one assist.
 
Adding scores for IC were Greg Drillock and Brendan King who each notched a pair of goals in the lopsided victory. Josh Della Puca, Sean Ferrito and John Januszkiewicz each scored a goal to add on to IC's offensive explosion.
 
Senior goalie Jack Deragon continued to get the first nod in Ithaca's cage. He posted his finest performance to-date, marking 14 saves and allowing just three goals in a dominant defensive showing against Western New England. The win extended his record to 4-0 to begin the season.
 
The Bombers raced out to a 4-0 lead in the opening 5:40 of game action against Western New England. Drillock opened the scoring just 55-seconds into the game with a goal off an excellent feed from junior Jake Cotton. King and Witter tallied scores eight seconds apart, while Cotton capped the scoring run to begin the contest, converting on excellent pass from Drillock to make the score 4-0 with 9:20 remaining in the opening half.
 
After Liam Baker scored for the Golden Bears with the man-up advantage, IC closed the opening half on an 11-0 scoring run to take a commanding 15-1 lead into halftime.
 
Four of the goals came during the first quarter, as Witter notched a pair of scores, while Shumway and King also netted tallies to widen the gap. Cotton, Shumway and Witter each notched a pair of goal during the second frame to help the Bombers blow the contest wide open. Della Puca added a score in the second quarter.  
 
Drillock, Witter and Januszkiewicz each netted goals in the third quarter to maintain the healthy lead. Ferrito added a goal with 7:09 remaining to cap the scoring for IC.
 
The win upped IC's record to 6-0 on the season, marking the first time since 2009 since the Bombers recorded six straight wins to begin the year. Ithaca's offense continued to click on the day, scoring 19 goals, which marked the fifth time in five starts in which IC has tallied 17-or-more goals in a game.
 
Ithaca raced out to a 8-1 lead through the first 15 minutes of play. Drillock, King, Witter and Cotton each scored within the first 5:40 of play to lift IC to a comfortable 4-0 margin. IC added on with another 4-0 run, which included a pair of goals from Witter to complete his hat trick with 14-seconds remaining in the opening quarter.
 
Cotton, Shumway and Witter each registered a pair of goals in helping IC to a 7-0 advantage in goals scored during the second quarter. The 15-1 scoring lead marked the second largest advantage for the Bombers at the half this season.
 
Drillock, Witter and Januszkiewicz helped Ithaca to a 3-1 scoring advantage during the third quarter, while Ferrito added a fourth-quarter tally to cap the scoring for IC with 7:09 remaining.
 
Ithaca returns to action on Wednesday, March 22, with a 4:00 p.m. contest against SUNY Oneonta at Higgins Stadium. The nationally-ranked Ithaca women's lacrosse team is set to face Route 13 rival, SUNY Cortland, in a contest beginning at 7:00 p.m. later in the evening.