SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Saturday was a memorable day for the 16^th-ranked Ithaca College men's lacrosse team, as the Bombers traveled to Skidmore for its first Liberty League contest since Ithaca joined the League this past summer. The Bombers made sure it would be a game to celebrate, turning in a dominant second half to pull away for a 17-5 victory to improve to 3-0 on the year and 1-0 in Liberty League.
 
Leading 5-2 in a defensive battle through 30-minutes, the Ithaca offense exploded for 12 goals in the second half, seven of which came during the fourth quarter helping IC shake free of a pesky Skidmore squad for the lopsided victory. It was Ithaca's first victory with a double-digit margin this season, as IC outscored its opponents by nine goals in each of the first two games.
 
Leading the way offensively for the Bombers were a trio of hat-trick scorers. Sophomore transfer Ryan Ozsvath continued his hot start to the year with a five-point effort, tallying four goals and an assist. He was matched by junior midfielder Conner Crosson who also registered five points, which included his first four goals of the 2018 campaign. Junior midfielder Josh Della Puca also reached the mark, scoring three goals and adding one assist.
 
Senior attacker Jake Cotton made history on Saturday. Although he did not find the back of the net himself, the senior dished out three assists to move into first place on the program's all-time career list. The three helpers brought his career total to 121, passing Rob Sterling '82 (120) who had held the mark for 36 years.
 
Also registering goals for Ithaca on the afternoon were junior attacker Brendan King, senior attacker Kaelan Fitzpatrick, senior midfielder Stephen Morrell, and freshman attacker Connor Brumfield. King and Brumfield each tallied a pair of goals, while Brumfield finished with three points, adding an assist. Morrell also registered a three-point effort, posting two helpers. Fitzpatrick posted one assist in addition to his goal, while senior faceoff specialist Stephen Landspurg also chipped in a lone helper.
 
Defensively, Ithaca forced eight caused turnovers in the game. Freshman Aaron McCartney led the way with two forced turnovers, while Kaelan Fitzpatrick also had two in the game. Junior long-stick Sean Seaberg also added one caused turnover and four ground-balls.
 
In goal, sophomore Robby Atwood ran his record to 3-0 on the year with a career-best performance in the cage. He conceded just five goals in the game, matching his season low, while he finished with a career-high 14 saves in the win.
 
Ithaca held the upper hand throughout much of the opening half, but struggled to translate that into a significant advantage on the scoreboard through 30-minutes of action. The Bombers outshot the Thoroughbreds 26-to-16 in attempts, while it held an 18-to-7 lead in shots on goal. Despite the hefty leads in attack time and chances, Skidmore limited the damage to just a 5-2 halftime score.
 
Crosson had two of his four goals during the first 30-minutes, while King, Della Puca and Morrell had one goal apiece. IC's defense held serve, as the attack battled to find the mark. Atwood registered five saves during the half, while the defense kept Skidmore to the periphery for the majority of the half.
 
Fueling Ithaca's second-half surge was the draw control. Landspurg keyed an 11-to-5 advantage at the 'X' over the final 30-minutes, which included an 8-to-1 lead when IC pulled away in the fourth quarter. He finished 16-for-25 for the game.
 
Although Skidmore scored the opening goal of the third quarter to briefly cut the deficit to 5-3, IC rattled off five unanswered goals to close out the frame, giving the team some much-needed breathing room. Crosson scored both of his second-half goals during the stretch, while Ozsvath, Della Puca and King added tallies. Crosson and King scored 28-seconds apart with under a minute remaining in the third quarter to send IC to the fourth quarter with an 8-3 lead.
 
Ithaca continued to push the pace in the final frame, playing some of its finest lacrosse of the young season. IC outscored Skidmore 7-2 during the quarter to pull away for the comfortable win.
 
Ithaca tallied four times during the opening 3:09 of the frame. Keying the surge was a natural hat trick from Ozsvath. Fitzpatrick scored his lone goal of the contest with 10:33 to play, while Brumfield added a goal right off the ensuing draw 12-seconds later. He capped the scoring in the game with 8:53 to play, as the freshman notched his first career multi-goal effort.
 
Ithaca returns to action next week when it plays a pair of neutral-site contests during its spring break trip to Virginia Beach, Va. The team will open the two-game stretch on Tuesday, March 13, when it faces U.S. Coast Guard Academy in a 1:00 p.m. contest.