ITHACA, N.Y. – The 15^th-ranked Ithaca College men's lacrosse team ensured that its season would continue for at the very minimum one more game on Saturday afternoon when IC retook the field at Higgins Stadium for the Quarterfinal Round of the Liberty League Tournament. For the second time in less than 72-hours, the Bombers faced a scrappy Clarkson squad as the two sides battled in a rematch following IC's 14-7 victory in the regular-season finale this past Wednesday. Saturday's game followed a similar script, as Ithaca showcased its firepower to control matters for the majority of the game in a 12-7 victory. The win improves Ithaca's record to 14-2 on the season.
 
Like the midweek contest between the two teams, the visitors got off to a fast start to the game, scoring twice in the opening 2:08 to snag an early lead. However, it did not take IC long to find its response, as the Bombers racked up five goals in the opening frame to snatch a lead it would not relinquish throughout the duration of the game. A 7-1 scoring run that spanned the midway point of the first quarter to late in the third quarter proved to be the difference. Although Clarkson did not allow Ithaca to fully pull away, the Golden Knights were never able to close the Ithaca lead any closer than two goals.
 
Leading the way offensively for Ithaca was another monster performance by freshman Connor Brumfield who paced a host of five multi-point scorers for IC on the afternoon. Coming off a great week, which witnessed Brumfield earn Rookie of the Week honors from both the Liberty League and the ECAC, the first-year Bomber continued his excellent run of form. He pumped in a career high five goals to become Ithaca's second player to surpass the 30-goal milestone this season. It was a big bounce-back effort for Brumfield, who was relatively quiet on the scoresheet with just one assist in the midweek matchup between the two teams. It was Brumfield's fifth multi-point effort over the past six games.
 
Junior midfielder Conner Crosson also had his presence felt throughout the day. Earning a starting cap in an attacking role on Saturday, he registered a four-point outing with two goals and two assists, while he also finished with two caused turnovers and two ground-balls. It was Crosson's fifth multi-goal effort of the season, while he hit the 40-point mark for the season, which is the first time that he has reached that milestone in his collegiate career. Classmate Josh Della Puca also continued his string of strong efforts with a three-point outing, as he tallied one goal and two assists. Senior attacker Jake Cotton posted two points on one goal and one assist, closing under 10-goals from cracking the program's all-time Top-10 list for career goals.
 
IC's final multi-point scorer came from an unlikely source, as senior defenseman Keith Morrissey posted a career day. He finished with three points, scoring his first goal of the season, as well as dishing out two assists. It was the senior's second career goal, while it was the first time he has recorded multiple points in a game this season. He also keyed IC's defensive effort to finish with a game-high four caused turnovers and five ground-balls.
 
Adding scores for IC were senior midfielder Stephen Morrell and junior midfielder Brendan King. Each player tallied one goal on the day. Also picking up points were senior midfielders Greg Drillock and Kaelan Fitzpatrick, each posting one assist apiece.
 
Defensively, the Bombers once again were relentless in making things quite difficult for the Golden Knights. Ithaca finished with 18 caused turnovers on the day, while it held Clarkson to just 14-for-25 in successful clear attempts. The effort helped offset a challenging day at the 'X', as the visitors won 19-of-23 faceoffs on the day.
 
Behind Morrissey's team-high four forced miscues, three other IC defensemen recorded multiple caused turnovers on the day. Sophomore Aaron McCartney and rookie long-stick midfielder Jake Hall-Goldman each finished with three caused turnovers on the day. McCartney added a team-best eight ground-balls, while Hall-Goldman finished with four. Graduate-student Winston Wenham also had a strong game to finish with two caused turnovers and four ground-balls. Senior Stephen Landspurg, Brendan King and freshman Connor Till each finished with one caused turnover apiece.
 
In goal, sophomore Robby Atwood ran his record to 14-2 on the year with another solid effort. He finished with seven saves and forced one caused turnover on the day.
 
It felt like déjà vu for the Bombers during the opening minutes of the game. Much like the midweek battle between the two sides, which witnessed Clarkson take advantage of some lack-luster play by IC early, the Golden Knights broke through for a score from Conor Bartlett just 26-seconds into the game on Saturday.
 
IC answered the score in short order one-minute later when Brumfield tallied his first of the day. Working quickly in transition, Morrissey carried possession all the way from his own end into the attacking zone, before labeling a pass to a wide-open Brumfield on the left wing. He loaded up a shot that bested the Clarkson keeper five-hole to level the score at 1-1.
 
Although Clarkson retook the lead 45-seconds later on the ensuing possession when Shane Kilday whipped a shot past Atwood, Ithaca's attack took control from that point forward to send IC to the first intermission with a 5-2 lead.

Crosson retied the game at 2-2 at 8:15 when he made a spin move to gain separation on the right wing, before firing a laser shot top shelf. Brumfield gave Ithaca its first lead with 5:54 left in the quarter, executing a similar move to Crosson's, but on the left side of the zone instead of the right. Morrell doubled the IC advantage nearly two minutes later when he loaded up a howitzer from the center point into the top left corner of the cage. Brumfield capped the quarter at 2:37 when he notched the hat trick on a sharp angle shot into the bottom right of the goal as he cut down the left flank.
 
The second quarter was a tactical defensive battle, as each team only unlocked the opponent's defense for a single goal. Sam Groves briefly closed the Golden Knights within two goals late in the second half, but King scored with 1:41 remaining in the half to send IC into the halftime break leading 6-3. King's goal was a pretty play, as he received a great pass from Della Puca in the high slot and seamlessly turned and whipped a shot into the twine.
 
Ithaca took control of the game with two goals in the opening four minutes of the third quarter to push the margin to a comfortable five-goal advantage. Morrissey got the Bombers off-and-running less than a minute into the frame, picking off a pass in his own end and sprinting coast-to-coast to fire a shot top shelf for his first goal of the year. Della Puca scored his 20^th goal of the season three minutes later on a shot from the right point of the attacking zone.
 
Clarkson did not go away, scoring twice in the span of a minute late in the quarter. Shane Kilday scored his second goal of the day, while Brett Brillhart pumped home a man-up goal at 3:42 to close the IC lead to 8-5. However, Ithaca finished the frame with a flurry. Crosson stopped the Clarkson run with a laser goal just under the crossbar from the center point with 2:15 left in the quarter. Cotton closed out the quarter by beating the buzzer with a goal just inside the left post with just .2 seconds remaining on the scoreboard.
 
Brumfield capped his big afternoon with both Ithaca goals in the fourth quarter to help IC maintain the five-goal margin in the win. His fourth goal of the day came with 7:35 left in transition, while he finished off the scoring off a Crosson feed with 1:33 left to play.
 
With today's win, Ithaca returns to action on Wednesday, May 2, when it travels to No. 17 RPI for a rematch against the Engineers in the Liberty League Semifinals. The game is set to begin at 3:00 p.m.