ITHACA, N.Y. – Fresh off an exciting 15-12 home victory over MAC Commonwealth Champion Stevenson in an NCAA Tournament Second Round matchup this past Wednesday, the 15^th-ranked Ithaca College men's lacrosse program is set to hit the road on Saturday to face sixth-ranked Tufts in the NCAA Quarterfinals. Tufts advanced to Saturday with a 25-8 home victory over Merchant Marine this past Wednesday. Start time for Saturday's contest in Medford, Mass., is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
 
Game Coverage
#6 Tufts University (17-1) vs. #15 Ithaca College (16-3)
Saturday, May 12, 2018 | 1:00 PM | Bello Field – Medford, Mass.
 
Game Coverage
Live Stats | Live Stream | Twitter
Ithaca Game Notes (PDF)
 
Tickets
$7 – Adults
$5 – Students and Senior Citizens
 
Directions
Please visit the following link to access directions to Saturday's venue: CLICK HERE.
 
Parking
Please visit the following link to access parking information for Saturday's contest: CLICK HERE.
 
The Bracket
Please visit the following link to view the updated 2018 NCAA Bracket: CLICK HERE.
 
Last Time Out
Ithaca punched its ticket to the NCAA Third Round when it bested MAC Commonwealth Champion Stevenson in a 15-12 victory on Wednesday afternoon at Higgins Stadium. The third quarter proved to be the difference, as the Bombers posted the first four goals in the frame to pull ahead 10-7. IC would not relinquish the lead, scoring five times in the fourth quarter to maintain the margin in the 15-12 win.
 
Seven All-League Selections
The Liberty League released its list of All-Liberty League selections this past Tuesday morning. The Bombers finished in a tie for third in the league with seven total selections earning placement on one of the three teams. Ithaca placed three All-Liberty League First Team honorees in junior midfielders Conner Crosson and Josh Della Puca, while fifth-year defender Winston Wenham also joined the group. The Bombers trio of All-Liberty League Second Team selections included freshman attacker Connor Brumfield, junior short-stick defensive midfielder Brendan King, and sophomore defenseman Aaron McCartney. Additionally, junior long-stick midfielder Sean Seaberg was tabbed an All-Liberty League Honorable Mention pick.
 
Rookie of the Year
Freshman attacker Connor Brumfield was the lone IC player to take home a major award from the Liberty League. The first-year player was tabbed Liberty League Rookie of the Year after making an immediate impact in his debut campaign. The Pittsburgh, Pa., native leads the Bombers with 52 points this season, entering Saturday's game against No. 6 Tufts with 36 goals and 16 assists.
 
Potent Attack
Ithaca has boasted one of the most potent attacking groups in the Liberty League this season. The Bombers 225 goals rank behind only top-ranked RIT this season, while the team's 11.84 goals-per-game average was fourth-best in the league. The Bombers offense was in excellent form on Wednesday, registering 15 goals and amassing 43 shot attempts in the victory over Stevenson. The 15 goals tied for the team's fourth-best effort of the year.
 
Cotton Bounces Back
Senior attacker Jake Cotton has had an up-and-down year in his final collegiate season; however, he seems to be clicking at the right time heading into Saturday's matchup against the Jumbos. IC's senior captain finished with four points in the win over Stevenson, tallying three goals and adding one helper. The performance snapped a two-game stretch in which he had been held off the stat sheet. With the effort he surpassed the 40-point milestone for the fourth consecutive season during his IC career. Ithaca will need Cotton in prime form in the matchup at Tufts on Saturday.
 
Chart Topper
Senior attacker Jake Cotton will go down as one of the most potent scoring threats in Ithaca's 51-year history as a varsity program. He enters Saturday's game sitting in third-place on the program's all-time point list with 237 career points. He enters the day just 10-goals shy of the Top-10 in that statistic, sitting at 105 for his career, while he is the program's all-time leader in career assists with 132.
 
100-100 Club
With a two-goal performance earlier this season in Ithaca's 13-9 home victory over then-No. 20 SUNY Cortland, IC senior Jake Cotton joined a highly exclusive club of Bomber greats. His two-goal performance put him over the century-mark for career goals. With the effort, he became just the third player in Ithaca history to amass over 100 career goals and 100 career assists, joining Barry Cohen '80 and Brian Weil '05.
 
Brumfield Sets Career High
Ithaca would not be in its current position without the performance of freshman attacker Connor Brumfield. Not only does the Liberty League Rookie of the Year lead the team with 52 points, but he also had a massive performance in IC's 15-12 win over Stevenson in the NCAA Second Round victory. He tallied a new career high with seven points, finishing with three goals and adding four assists. It was the seventh time this season that Brumfield recorded a hat trick, while his four assists also represented a new single-game high.
 
14th NCAA Appearance
This year marks the 14th time that IC's men's lacrosse program has qualified for the NCAA Tournament during its 51-years as a varsity program. The Bombers first NCAA appearance came following the 1978 season. The 2018 season marks the 10th time that Ithaca has qualified for the tournament in the tenure of legendary Hall of Fame head coach Jeff Long. It is also the third time over the past five seasons that Ithaca has made the tournament, as the team advanced to the NCAA Second Round in 2014 and the NCAA Quarterfinal Round in 2016.
 
Wenham Keys Experienced Backfield
Fifth-year defenseman Winston Wenham keys an experienced defense corps for the Bombers. The graduate-student has been stellar this campaign, setting new career highs with 43 caused turnovers and 73 ground-balls. He paced the Liberty League in the former category during the regular season en route to earning his third All-Conference First Team honor of his career this past Monday.
 
Career Year for Crosson
Junior midfielder Conner Crosson has thrived in an increased role this season. The dynamic third-year offensive-minded midfielder has set new career highs in points (46) and assists (26), while his two-goal effort in the win over Stevenson tied his career-best season for goals. He has registered at least one point in all but two games this season.
 
Return to NCAA Quarterfinals
This is Saturday's contest will mark the 10th time that Ithaca has advanced to the NCAA Quarterfinals during the program's 51-year history. It is the eighth time that Bombers have advanced this far into the NCAA postseason during head coach Jeff Long's head coaching tenure.
 
All-Time Series vs. Tufts
Saturday's matchup will be the second-ever meeting between Ithaca and Tufts in men's lacrosse. The only other matchup between the two programs came in the 2016 NCAA Quarterfinals, a game also played in Medford, Mass. The Jumbos controlled play from the outset, pulling away with a seven-goal second quarter to take an 11-2 lead at halftime. The final margin was a 19-7 win for the Jumbos, which cut short the Bombers' winningest season in program history at 20-2.