ITHACA, N.Y. – The 16^th-ranked Ithaca College men's lacrosse team was back in action at Higgins Stadium on Wednesday afternoon when it welcomed Oswego State for another non-league bout at 4:00 p.m. The Bombers used a stifling defensive effort, while the offense was on-point for the second consecutive outing, as IC raced past the Lakers for a 14-5 victory on frigid South Hill. The win improves Ithaca's record to 2-0 on the young season.
 
A strong two-way effort paved the way for the lopsided win on Wednesday. Despite Oswego State actually holding a slight advantage in the faceoff circle, 13-to-10, it was IC's defense that held serve in helping the Bombers jump out to a commanding lead. Ithaca forced 38 Oswego State miscues, 22 of them caused turnovers, while the Lakers finished the day just over 50-percent in successful clears, 16-for-31.
 
Keying the big day on the back end was graduate-student Winston Wenham. The Inside Lacrosse Preseason All-American looked every bit the part on Wednesday in his first significant game action of the spring. He racked up seven caused turnovers and six ground-balls in a dominating performance. Senior Keith Morrissey added three caused turnovers and four ground-balls, while junior Sean Seaberg posted a pair of forced miscues.
 
The attack also was sharp in the outing, as the Bombers built up a 54-to-23 advantage in shot attempts and a 35-to-13 edge in shots on target. Seven IC players scored goals on the day, while five netted multi-goal efforts. Leading the way was once again sophomore transfer Ryan Ozsvath, who followed up his five-goal debut against Lycoming with four more tallies against the Lakers.
 
Senior Jake Cotton added a monster game in attack with a game-high six points on two goals and four assists. In the process he blazed past the 200-career-point milestone to finish the day with 205. His four helpers also brought his career total to 118, just two shy of tying 1982-graduate Rob Sterling's program-record mark of 120. Freshman Connor Brumfield added one goal and one assist from the attack.
 
The IC midfield also turned in a huge performance in the offensive third of the field. Junior Josh Della Puca kept amassing high point totals, finishing with two goals and two assists. Senior Stephen Morrell scored twice and chipped in one helper. Junior Brendan King also posted two points on one goal and one assist, while freshman Dillon Fitzpatrick scored the first two goals of his collegiate career to round out the scoring for the Bombers.
 
Sophomore goalie Robby Atwood had a relatively quiet afternoon in the IC cage, but was strong when called upon during stretches of the game. He posted six saves and forced a pair of caused turnovers in 52:13 of game action to record his second straight win. Freshman TJ Brennan played the final 7:47 of the game, making two saves in his first collegiate action.
 
It took a little while for IC to warm into the contest, as flurries flew throughout the game on a windswept South Hill. The first quarter was all about turning defense into offense. Although Oswego State actually held a 5-to-1 edge in the six faceoff opportunities in the period, it was IC that emerged with a 5-0 lead through 15-minutes of play.
 
Ozsvath got the scoring started, taking a feed from Cotton at the left point and lasering home his sixth goal of the year to get IC off-and-running 4:17 into the game. Morrell followed with a score just 1:55 later on an unassisted shot from a similar position to Ozsvath's opener.
 
The Bombers continued to pick on the far side post shooting from the left of the zone as the first period wound to conclusion. Della Puca netted his first of the afternoon with 5:45 left in the quarter, while Cotton also picked a perfect shot inside the right post 2:24 later.
 
A pair of man-up opportunities sandwiched around the end of the first and beginning of the second proved to be the only offense IC required to win the outing. IC closed out the first period scoring with 1:26 left, on a beautiful passing play with the man-advantage. After doing a couple passing cycles around the periphery of the attacking zone, Della Puca picked out King on a perfect pass with the latter wide open at the right post. He patiently pulled a couple of pump fakes, before ripping a shot past the Oswego State keeper to make the score 5-0.
 
Ozsvath provided the second man-up goal 1:43 into period two. His shot was created by Conner Crosson, working a quick catch-and-shoot from up high. Ithaca would finish the day 2-for-3 in man-up opportunities after being shutout in its lone man-advantage during the season opener.
 
The only other goal to be scored in the second quarter was also from Ozsvath, as he capped the scoring in the frame with 4:03 left. The goal was unassisted, completing the sophomore's first-half hat trick. Ithaca took a 7-0 lead to the break.
 
Although the visitors were finally able to knock the goose-egg off the scoreboard during the third quarter, Ithaca used a three-goal surge in a span of 1:56 to wash away two Lakers tallies that bookened the period. Brumfield scored the first during the stretch at 11:33, while Ozsvath netted his fourth of the afternoon just 41-seconds later off the ensuing draw. Dillon Fitzpatrick capped the run just over one minute later, pushing IC's margin of lead to nine at 10-1.
 
The Bombers pushed things out of reach with the first four goals of the final frame. Three of the tallies occurred in just a 23-second span less than a minute into the quarter. Cotton started the spurt, taking a feed from Crosson and rifling it into the twine for his second goal of the afternoon. Morrell added his second of the day off the ensuing draw 11-seconds later, while Della Puca made it a trifecta with another goal of the rush just 12-seconds following Morrell's tally. Fitzpatrick capped the scoring at 13:34, finishing off a slick feed from Cotton.
 
The nationally-ranked Bombers return to action this weekend when they hit the road for its Liberty League debut on Saturday, March 10. IC will take on Skidmore with start time slated for 1:00 p.m.