ITHACA, N.Y. – The 12
th-ranked Ithaca College men's lacrosse team took another significant step towards securing homefield advantage for the opening-round of the Empire 8 Tournament, blowing past Elmira College for a 19-4 victory at Higgins Stadium on Wednesday afternoon. The win improves the Bombers' record to 12-3 on the year, while it lifts their E8 mark to 6-1.
IC controlled play right from the opening faceoff, scoring six goals in the first five minutes of the game to race out to a big lead. The Bombers scored the first nine goals in the game and finished with a 12-1 advantage through the opening quarter of play. With the game well in-hand, Ithaca showcased the depth of its talented reserves throughout much of the contest.
The Bombers were paced by freshman
Dan Lee who posted the best game of his fledgling IC career with a game-high six points. He tallied a hat trick and added three assists in a great offensive showing.
Senior
John Januszkiewicz and freshman
Matt Montgomery also had big games for Ithaca with four points apiece in the contest. Januszkiewicz netted a natural hat trick in the first quarter, scoring three goals over a 2:06 span as part of the Bombers nine-goal barrage to begin the game. He also chipped-in an assist during the run. Montgomery scored twice and added two helpers.
Freshman
Doug Hill posted three points, scoring twice and marking one assist. Seniors
Jack Shumway and
Sean Ferrito both chipped in two-goal efforts, while
Josh Della Puca,
Owen Smith and
Tyler Krampf all finished with one goal and one assist. Junior
Jake Cotton also registered two points, dishing out a pair of assists in the win.
Rounding out the scoring was junior
Kaelan Fitzpatrick and freshman
Connor Hulme who scored one goal apiece.
EJ Reynolds,
Conner Crosson and
Kevin Enos each registered a single assist in the contest.
Defensively, Ithaca forced 10 Elmira miscues in the contest. Reynolds had two caused turnovers, while Ferrito, Krampf, Crosson,
Quinn Sherer,
Aaron McCartney,
Sean Seaberg and
Chase Harrington each recorded one.
Freshman
Robby Atwood picked up his second victory in the Ithaca cage this season. He stopped three Elmira shots in 30 minutes of action to move to 2-0 on the year. Senior
Justin Isaacs took over in the third quarter, making seven saves and also registering a caused turnover. Sophomore
Davis Bird blanked the Soaring Eagles in the fourth quarter, finishing with two saves.
IC led right off the hop, as Fitzpatrick opened the scoring for IC with a top-shelf laser 33-seconds into the game. In the blink of an eye, the Bombers opened the advantage up to 4-0, as Della Puca,
Owen Smith and Shumway scored over a 1:01 span, prompting an Elmira timeout.
The lead continued to balloon during the ensuing stretch. Shumway scored his second of the quarter following the visitor timeout, while Januszkiewicz followed with his fast-paced natural hat trick. Krampf capped the nine-goal run with a goal with 5:54 left in the quarter.
Although Nevin Olney got the Soaring Eagles on the board with 3:49 left, the Bombers responded with three goals down the stretch. Lee scored his first of three on the afternoon just 10-seconds after the Olney tally, while Montgomery and Hill each found the back of the net in the opening period.
Ithaca opened the second quarter with four straight goals to widen the advantage to 16-1 with 7:32 left in the half. Ferrito and Hill scored goals 13-seconds apart during the opening five minutes of the period, while Lee and Ferrito found the back of the net 25-seconds apart later in the frame.
A three-goal scoring run for Elmira closed the deficit within 16-4 with 14:50 to go in the third quarter, but IC closed the game on a three-goal run of its own to conclude the scoring. Hulme, Montgomery and Lee were the beneficiaries on the final three scores for the Bombers.
Ithaca concludes the regular season on Saturday, April 29, when it welcomes Hartwick College to Higgins Stadium for a 3:00 p.m. start. The Bombers will honor the Class of 2017 in a pre-game Senior Day ceremony.
