Full Highlights

TROY, N.Y. – The No. 15 Ithaca College men's lacrosse team kept its postseason run going in the most thrilling of fashions, as junior midfielder Josh Della Puca buried a shot 42-seconds into the second overtime session to lift the Bombers to an 8-7 win over No. 19 RPI at East Campus Stadium in Troy, N.Y. The win jettisons the Bombers to the 2018 Liberty League Championship in which they will play the winner of today's other Semifinal Round contest between St. Lawrence and No. 1 RIT.
 
In a game that started as an offensive barrage, only three total goals were scored over the second half and over time sessions. Senior wing Kaelan Fitzpatrick broke a 6-6 deadlock with a sinister snipe with 12:57 remaining in regulation, lifting Ithaca to its first lead of the day. However, RPI finally found a crack in IC's impregnable second-half defense and sophomore goalkeeper Robby Atwood to level the score at 7-7 with 2:46 remaining.
 
The two sides traded chances through the duration of regulation, as well as the first overtime session, but again neither defense would blink. Ithaca continued to get a big performance at the 'X' from senior Steven Landspurg, who won his 10^th faceoff of the day to put the Bombers back in business in the attacking zone. After an initial shot off the rush by junior Conner Crosson drifted just wide of the left post, IC setup the attacking zone chance of the restart. The team cycled some passes around the perimeter, eventually working it down to Crosson below the goal. The junior faked swinging wide and cut back to his right, before whipping a pass to Della Puca at the left wing. The junior had a big gap and loaded up a cannon shot that bested RPI keeper Parker Smith five-hole for the game-winner.
 
Della Puca's winner capped a valiant effort by the visitors. The Bombers defense and goalkeeping especially stood out after a challenging open to the game. IC held RPI to just two goals over the final 45-minutes of regulation and 4:42 of overtime play. Atwood had one of the best outings of his young career, finishing with 12 saves with several of those coming on point-blank chances to keep the Bombers right in the contest.
 
Defensively, the Bombers were boosted by the return of junior long-stick Sean Seaberg who was back in the lineup following a three-game absence. Seaberg, as well as senior Keith Morrissey and fifth-year Winston Wenham keyed a resurgent effort by the Ithaca defense that was blitzed for 16 scores the last time these two teams met on the very same field back in March. Morrissey finished with a game-high four caused turnovers and corralled four ground-balls. Wenham, sophomore Aaron McCartney, Seaburg, as well as Landspurg each posted one caused turnover apiece, while they helped keep the Engineers to the periphery throughout much of the contest.
 
On attack, the Bombers were paced by Della Puca and Kaelan Fitzpatrick, as both players each finished with a pair of goals. Crosson and senior Greg Drillock also finished with two points apiece, each tallying one goal and one assist. Freshman Connor Brumfield and junior wing Brendan King added the final two IC scores.
 
It was another challenging start for the Bombers during the opening minutes of the game, as the RPI attack was a sweltering as the near 90-degree temperatures at sun-splashed East Campus Stadium on Wednesday. The Engineers jumped on top with back-to-back strikes by Tom Feenstra and Will Killeen to go ahead 2-0 just 2:01 into the game.
 
Although Fitzpatrick broke the ice for IC with a big answer less than minute after Killeen's score, the Engineers punched back with another score at 10:32 to stretch the game back to a two-goal margin. The two sides traded punch for counter-punch when Crosson showcased his agility and shiftiness to score a beauty with 8:35 to play in the opening quarter, but again RPI responded with JT Kelly scoring twice in less than three-minutes to widen the home side's lead to 5-2 with 4:52 left.
 
Ithaca began to swing the tide to close out the quarter and would cut into the deficit with 1:57 to play. Drillock and King synced up on a beautiful passing play, with King depositing the give-and-go shot into the twine to pull back within 5-3. The score remained the same heading into the first intermission.
 
The second quarter could not have started on a better note for Ithaca. Landspurg won the opening draw and IC immediately launched into its attack. Starting up top, Della Puca muscled his way into the high slot, pushing back his marking defender to free up space to rifle a howitzer top shelf to close IC back within a goal at 5-4 just 35-seconds into the second quarter.
 
Both sides would get chances over the ensuing minutes, but the score remained unchanged until Zack Lucas scored while the Engineers worked on a delayed penalty situation to reestablish the two-goal lead. RPI had the chance for more, as McCartney's slashing call carried over despite the goal; however, strong man-down defense by the Bombers forced a turnover and allowed IC to keep the margin unchanged.
 
Right after the expiration of the penalty, Ithaca got the goal back. Brumfield got a pass on the left wing and charged towards the near side post, before slipping a shot five-hole through Patrick to again close IC within a goal at 6-5 with 4:55 left in the half.
 
It was Drillock that pulled Ithaca level for the first time since the beginning of the game with 1:42 left. It was a highlight-reel move by the senior, who absolutely broke his marking defenders ankles on a spin move, to shake free and launch a snap shot into the twine. The teams entered halftime deadlocked at 6-6.
 
The third quarter was territorially dominated by IC. Ithaca held the majority of possession, but was unable to find cracks in the RPI defense. The Engineers were able to force several long possessions that ended with late shot attempts as time expired on the shot clock. Meanwhile, Ithaca's defense was fantastic in forcing several turnovers, while Atwood stopped all three shots that RPI was able to put on goal in the frame.
 
Fitzpatrick put Ithaca ahead for the first time early in the fourth quarter. Cutting from the right wing to the high slot, the senior shrugged off the RPI defender and slinged a left-handed shot from the side into the twine to go up 7-6 with 12:57 to play.
 
The Bombers got a few chances to add to the lead, but again RPI clamped down when it counted. A couple unforced errors also foiled a few offensive possessions before they really got started. However, Ithaca's defense did not blink with the one-goal lead maintaining the edge late into regulation. RPI finally snapped a long scoreless streak when Jason Bram leveled the scoring with 2:46 left in regulation.
 
Both sides got chances late. RPI won the ensuing draw, but Atwood stoned Oliver Kaija on a scoring chance right off the faceoff to keep things scoreless. The Bombers successfully cleared and called timeout to draw up a final chance, but Brumfield's shot from the left wing sailed wide as time expired on the shot clock. RPI cleared the zone and called a timeout to draw up a final chance of its own, but JT Kelly's shot also drifted wide of the mark with just seconds remaining.
 
The Bombers were nearly the victims of some horrid luck in the first overtime session. The Bombers controlled the opening draw as Kaelan Fitzpatrick scooped up a loose ball; however, his momentum carried him right into the path of the referee with the two colliding. IC was never able to fully recover from the unfortunate mishap with a pressured pass ultimately sailing out of bounds.
 
The Engineers were able to get two shots off during their attacking possession, but both went wide of the mark. Atwood scooped the second attempt by Kelly out of the side netting to spark the counter. The rest of the period featured up-and-down action. IC nearly won the game in the waning moments of overtime, as Morrissey sprinted coast-to-coast and nearly sent home a highlight-reel backhand shot right on top of the crease, but the ball drifted just wide of the post.
 
All the action set the stage of Della Puca's game-winner in the second session. Landspurg won the opening faceoff to begin the second overtime with Crosson and Della Puca finishing off the game moments later. The team mobbed Della Puca in celebration, knowing that the squad was one step closer to a Liberty League Title and potential NCAA Tournament berth.
 
Ithaca returns to action on Saturday, May 5, when it travels to Rochester to face undefeated No. 1 RIT. Start time is still to be announced.