ITHACA, N.Y. – The 10^th-ranked Ithaca College men's lacrosse team faced its stiffest test of the season to-date on Tuesday afternoon when it welcomed fourth-ranked Rochester Institute of Technology to Higgins Stadium. Unfortunately, a blazing start by the visiting Tigers proved to be the difference, as the Bombers fell in a hard-fought 16-14 contest. The loss drops Ithaca's record to 10-3 on the year.
 
Senior attacker Jack Shumway paced 10 Ithaca players who got on the scoresheet during the contest, netting four times in the narrow defeat. With the effort, Shumway became the seventh player in Ithaca men's lacrosse history and second in as many games to top 200 career points, joining teammate John Januszkiewicz in reaching the mark.
 
Junior Stephen Morrell and sophomore Josh Della Puca each registered three points in the contest. Morrell netted his first hat trick of the season to help spark Ithaca's comeback bid. Della Puca found the back of the net once, while also chipping in a pair of assists.
 
Sophomore Will Witter scored twice for the Bombers, while junior Greg Drillock also registered a multi-point effort with a goal and an assist. Sophomore Owen Smith, junior Kaelan Fitzpatrick, and senior John Januszkiewicz also netted goals for IC. Rounding out the point scoring for Ithaca was junior Jake Cotton and sophomore Conner Crosson who each chipped in a lone assist.
 
Defensively, seniors Keith Morrissey and Cody Swing each forced a pair of caused turnovers. Junior Winston Wenham and freshman Aaron McCartney also posted one caused turnover apiece.
 
Senior goalie Jack Deragon made a valiant effort against a relentless RIT attack in the IC cage, but ended up having to settle for his third loss of the campaign, dropping his record to 9-3 on the year. He posted a career-high 18 saves to help IC mount a charge down the stretch.
 
It was an inauspicious start for the Bombers, as RIT came out flying with its prolific attack. The Tigers shell-shocked the Ithaca with an offensive barrage, which tallied five times in the first 4:49 to take a big early lead.
 
However, not to be deterred, Ithaca showed its fortitude in battling back against highly-ranked Tigers to claw back into the game. The Bombers scored three of the final four goals in the opening quarter to pull back within striking distance.
 
Shumway got IC on the board with 8:56 left in the opening quarter as IC worked it transition game to perfection. Sending a quick outlet pass on the clear, Della Puca connected to Shumway who steamed in with the clear path on the left flank, before depositing a shot past RIT keeper Nick Nesbitt. IC capped the quarter with a pair of tallies as Witter and Shumway scored in succession, shaving the IC deficit to 6-3 through 15 minutes.
 
The momentum continued for Ithaca during the early portions of the second quarter. Shumway scored 59-seconds into the frame, pump-faking a scoop shot, before beating Nesbitt to the bottom left of the cage to make the score 6-4.
 
After the team's traded the next three scoring punches another two-goal run for IC helped IC claw within a goal with 3:21 left in the half. Januszkiewicz ripped home a score at 8:43, while Witter fired home a laser just inside the right post and crossbar to cut the deficit to 8-7. Unfortunately, a late goal by the Tigers with 1:30 left in the half ensured the visitors took a multi-goal lead to the half, but IC was right in the thick of things following the ugly start.
 
The turning point in the contest came during the early moments of the second half, as the Tigers began the final 30 minutes similar to the first 30. The visitors scored four of the first five goals in the frame to again widen the advantage to five goals at 13-8 with 8:29 to go in the quarter.
 
Ithaca did not shy away from the second challenge. Morrell and Fitzpatrick scored goals 20-seconds apart to again cut into the RIT lead. Another three-goal run by the Bombers during the fourth quarter again pulled IC within a goal with 3:34 to play.
 
Della Puca and Drillock scored goals 2:37 apart to cut the deficit to 15-13. Drillock's goal was an absolute cannon as he took a cross-zone feed from Crosson and sniped a shot into the upper right of the goal from the left wing. Morrell completed his hat trick with 3:34 to go and it looked as though Ithaca was going to be able to come all the way back trailing again by a single goal.
 
Unfortunately, the Tigers answered the Morrell goal with a tally of their own 28 seconds later, which ended up being the final score in the game.
 
Ithaca returns to action on Saturday, April 22, when it welcomes Alfred University for an Empire 8 battle at Higgins Stadium. Opening faceoff is scheduled for 12:00 p.m., while both teams will recognize the HEADstrong Foundation to benefit cancer research.