Press Conference (Stevenson) | Press Conference (Ithaca)

ITHACA, N.Y. – The 15^th-ranked Ithaca College men's lacrosse team kicked off 2018 NCAA Tournament play on Wednesday afternoon when it welcomed Stevenson University for a Second Round contest at Higgins Stadium. On the strength of quite possibly the team's most comprehensive all-around performance of the season, the Bombers powered past the Mustangs for a 15-12 victory on this pristine afternoon to advance to Saturday's Round of 16 matchup against sixth-ranked NESCAC Champion Tufts.
 
This one was back-and-forth throughout, but the Bombers swung momentum with a huge third quarter to take a lead that they would not relinquish. IC scored four consecutive goals over the opening 11:28 of the third quarter, turning a 7-6 deficit at halftime into a 10-7 lead late in the frame. Although Stevenson pushed back with three goals bridging the final moments of the third and first part of the fourth quarter to close the margin to just one score at 11-10, IC put together a strong final push to close things out. The Bombers scored four times over the final eight minutes to keep the breathing room for the victory.
 
Pacing the Bombers on Wednesday was freshman attacker Connor Brumfield who posted a career-best game in the victory. The freshly named Liberty League Rookie of the Year displayed all the qualities of that award in marking a career high seven points on three goals and four assists. It was the rookie's seventh hat-trick effort this season, while the four assists represented a new career high for the Pittsburgh, Pa., native.
 
Two other IC players recorded hat tricks on the afternoon in senior attacker Jake Cotton and senior midfielder Kaelan Fitzpatrick. Cotton finished with four points, adding one assist, while he scored a huge momentum-swing goal with 0.6-seconds remaining in the opening half to send Bombers into the half on a high note. It was the first hat trick of the season for Fitzpatrick and could not have come at a better time. Fitzpatrick tallied all three of his goals down the stretch once Stevenson cut the deficit to 11-10 with 8:22 remaining in the game.
 
Also registering multi-goal games on Wednesday were sophomore attacker Dan Lee and junior midfielder Conner Crosson. The third-year midfielder posted three points on the day with two goals and one assist, all of which came during IC's second-half surge. Lee sparked IC's four-goal third quarter with both of his tallies during the opening 5:28 of the frame. Senior midfielder Stephen Morrell posted two assists in the win, while sophomore attacker Ryan Ozsvath and senior attacker Greg Drillock rounded out the IC goal scoring with one goal apiece. Sophomore defenseman Aaron McCartney and junior midfielder Josh Della Puca each posted one point each on assists.
 
Defensively, Ithaca was rock solid against Stevenson's potent attack throughout the afternoon. The Bombers forced 10 caused turnovers, while the defense corps limited the Mustangs to just 22 shots-on-goal on the day.
 
Fifth-year Winston Wenham led the team with three caused turnovers and four ground-balls. Senior Keith Morrissey, sophomore Aaron McCartney and junior long-stick midfielder Sean Seaberg each posted two caused turnovers.  Morrissey and Seaberg finished with four ground-balls each, while McCartney registered five ground-balls. Freshman long-stick Jake Hall-Goldman added one caused turnover and one ground-ball.
 
Senior faceoff-man Steven Landspurg had a strong game at the 'X'. He held his own against one of the nation's top faceoff specialists in Stevenson's Justin Burnette. While Landspurg finished the day 12-of-30, he did not allow the Mustangs very many clean wins, while he came up large down the stretch with five wins in the crucial fourth quarter, which included back-to-back triumphs once Stevenson cut the deficit to a single goal at 11-10.
 
In goal, sophomore keeper Robby Atwood played quite strong, especially in the second half when he recorded seven of his 10 saves. The win improved the sophomore's record to 16-3 on the year.
 
The tone for today's game was set early, as the Bombers scored twice in the opening 2:58 of the contest to get off to a fast start that has eluded them during much of the season's stretch run. The first goal came just 1:10 into action, as IC capitalized off strong defense on the ride. McCartney forced a turnover near the top of the Stevenson defensive third and shuffled the loose ball towards goal. Brumfield scooped up the ground-ball and took a couple quick steps near the crease, but was knocked to the turf on a hard check. The rookie did well to hang onto possession and whip home a shot from his knees to send Ithaca off-and-running. The freshman added another goal 1:48 later, receiving a pass from Morrell down near the left post and doing some nifty footwork to score, before getting checked into the crease.
 
Stevenson punched back with two goals over the next 3:05 to level the score at 2-2. Gray McKee got the Mustangs on the board with a man-up goal with 11:15 left in the first, while Kyle Karsian capitalized off a McKee feed with 8:57 to play in the first to tie the game.
 
Cotton briefly pushed Ithaca back ahead when he scored his first of three on the day with 4:42 left in the opening quarter. The senior used a nice dip move to swing inside a defender and power towards the cage, before lifting a rising shot that beat Stevenson goalie Sam Ross top shelf. The lead was short-lived, as Stevenson's leading scorer JT Thelen scored twice over the final 3:17, the second coming with 1:49 left in the opening frame to give the visitors their first lead.
 
The second quarter was really the Sam Ross show for the Mustangs. The visitor goalie made six of his 15 total stops on the day during the frame, several of which came on point-blank opportunities. However, IC's defense answered the call as well, limiting the Mustangs to just six total shots in the frame to keep things even.
 
Ozsvath leveled the score at 4-4 with 12:05 left in the first half, rifling home his lone goal of the day. Taking a drop pass from Morrell on the right wing, he sprinted four steps and fired a laser into the lower left corner of the cage. However, Stevenson goals by Harrison Faecher and Kyle Karsian gave the visitors a 6-4 advantage with 3:34 left in the quarter.
 
Drillock helped IC cut into the deficit when he took a feed from Cotton on the left wing and loaded up a shot that bested Ross five-hole to snap a near 10-minute scoreless stretch for the Bombers.
 
It looked as though Stevenson would take the momentum into the half when Ethan Christensen broke free in the attacking zone to score a late goal to reestablish the two-goal advantage at 7-5 with just 12-seconds remaining. However, IC punched right back with limited time in the quarter. Landspurg won the ensuing faceoff clean and pushed the ball up to Brumfield on the far left flank. The rookie whipped a hard pass across the zone to Cotton at the right point with the senior firing a howitzer inside the left post for a goal with just 0.6-seconds remaining in the half. The goal clearly was the momentum shifter for IC on the afternoon.
 
The Bombers came out on fire at both ends to put together a third quarter that ultimately proved to be the difference. Lee brought IC back to level terms at 7-7 when he scored on a quick pop-shot from close range at the right-post off a feed from Della Puca just 53-seconds into the third quarter. Cotton added his third goal of the day 1:48 later when he and Brumfield synced up in transition on a fast-break. Lee would add a second goal in the opening 5:28 of the frame, this time finishing off a tic-tac-toe play from Della Puca-to-Brumfield-to-Lee right on top of the crease. The goal pushed IC ahead 9-7. Brumfield capped the four-goal third-quarter run with 3:32 left when he bested Ross from the slot off a great feed from Crosson.
 
Meanwhile, Atwood was stellar at the other end of the field. The Mustangs put together their best quarter in terms of shots, firing 14 attempts in the period, but Atwood was sharp throughout in making six saves in the frame. The Mustangs finally were able to snap the long goalless drought when JT Thelen scored his third of the day from in close with just 40-seconds remaining in the quarter.
 
Crosson reestablished the three-goal IC advantage with 10:28 to play in regulation. Starting his run from near the restraining line, he streaked down the right flank and completely juked past his marking defender, before lasering a far-side shot inside the left post. However, Stevenson responded with back-to-back goals by Christensen and Jacob Tatum to close the deficit to a single goal at 11-10 with 8:22 to play.
 
Landspurg played a big role in stymieing the visitor's surge, winning the next two crucial draws to ensure IC's offense would hold possession. The Bombers capitalized on both opportunities, scoring two goals in a 36-second span to gain back separation. Fitzpatrick netted the first, receiving a great feed from Brumfield in the slot. He made a patient play to fake shot and get Ross out of position, before scooping home a shot with 8:02 left. Crosson scored the next one at 7:26, circumnavigating nearly the entirety of the attacking third, before firing home a shot from the left wing.
 
Fitzpatrick put the game on ice with the final two goals for the Bombers. He netted the first of the sequence with 6:40 left, tallying on a bounce shot that went inside the right post, as the senior moved right-to-left across the attacking zone. The second came on a top-shelf howitzer from the right wing with 3:48 left.
 
IC's defense saw things out from there, as the Bombers held the Mustangs scoreless over the final 3:38 to preserve the three-goal margin.
 
Ithaca will be back in action this Saturday, May 12, when it heads to Medford, Mass., to face sixth-ranked Tufts in the NCAA Third Round. The Jumbos punched their ticket to the Round of 16 with a 25-8 victory over Merchant Marine on Wednesday afternoon. Start time for the contest on Saturday will be announced tomorrow.