ITHACA, N.Y. – The 19^th-ranked Ithaca College men's lacrosse team kept the good vibes rolling at home on Wednesday night when it welcomed SUNY Oneonta for another non-league tilt at Higgins Stadium. The Bombers took control of the contest from the opening moments in never looked back in a dominant 16-4 victory over the Red Dragons. The win improves IC's record to 4-1 on the young season.
 
Coming off a season-high 18-goal performance over the weekend in the team's Liberty League opener against Skidmore, the attack picked up right where it left off on Wednesday night. The Bombers' washed over the Red Dragons in attacking wave after attacking wave in a comprehensive performance. Things started from the outset with IC taking a 4-0 lead in the opening 15-minutes and a 7-1 lead into the halftime break. Ithaca held a 31-to-6 advantage in shot attempts in the first half. The Bombers did not let up when the team's resumed for the third and fourth quarters, striking for six goals in the third to stretch the lead into double digits, before finishing with three additional scores in the fourth.
 
Ithaca's impressive scoring depth was fully on the display in tonight's victory, as 12 different IC players got in on the scoring act. Leading the way was senior midfielder Conner Crosson, who paced all players with five points on three goals and two assists. An integral part of IC's offense, the senior mid seems to be heating up at the perfect time after a quiet start to the season. He has now registered nine points (4G-5A) over his last two games, compared to just two assists in the opening three games of the season.
 
The Bombers had three other players record three-point outings on the night. Sophomore attacker Connor Brumfield posted two goals and one assists, while junior attacker Ryan Ozsvath and senior midfielder Josh Della Puca reversed that line with one goal and two helpers apiece. Sophomore attacker Kyle Johnson also joined Brumfield and Crosson in the multi-goal club with a pair of scoring strikes on Wednesday. Junior attacker Dan Lee was the fifth IC player to register a multi-point outing on the night, continuing his career-best start with a goal and an assist. Adding single goals for Ithaca on the night were: juniors Aaron McCartney and Kevin Enos, sophomores Dillon Fitzpatrick and Connor Till, as well as freshmen Drew Turner and Willy Wright. For McCartney, it marked the junior defenseman's first career scoring strike.
 
Defensively, Ithaca was stout in limiting the Red Dragons effectiveness all night. With relentless pursuit on the ride and tight marking in the defensive third, Ithaca forced 15 caused turnovers on the night, while holding Oneonta to just 20-for-32 in successful clears. Sophomore defensemen Jake Hall-Goldman and Logan Adams tied for the team lead with three caused turnovers apiece, while McCartney added two. Senior midfielder Brendan King and first-year players Demetri Lowry and Robbie Dinsmore each chipped in one each, while they were joined on the stat sheet by Brumfield, Lee, Ozsvath, and Till.
 
For the second straight game, sophomore transfer Matt Pagliaro continued to establish himself as Ithaca's ace at the 'X'. He went a perfect 14-for-14 in draws on the night, several of which were won as cleanly as could be. First-year Cam MacNicol also had an impressive outing, going 6-for-9 on the night. Overall, Ithaca controlled the majority of possession with a 20-to-3 advantage for the contest.
 
First-year Connor Thornton improved to 4-2 as a starter in the IC cage. He made four stops and conceded just three goals in 45-minutes of action, before ceding the net to junior Robby Atwood to begin the fourth quarter. Atwood made three stops and allowed just one Red Dragon goal in his 15-minutes of action.
 
The Bombers got off to a quick start to the night with a strong opening quarter. It was Crosson that jump started IC with the first two goals of the evening. He registered his first of the night 2:20 into the game, weaving through the Oneonta defense and whipping a snap shot into the upper left. His second also went top shelf, as he sauntered down the left wing and rifled one that again went inside the left post with 11:21 to play in the first. Della Puca tacked on a third with 8:26 to go, whipping home a shot as he cut from left-to-right across the slot. Johnson capped the first-quarter scoring with 5:28 to go, swinging out from behind the cage and besting the Oneonta keeper five-hole from the right-side of the crease.
 
Although Oneonta would break the ice with their first of the day on a goal from Jake Boston 2:26 into the second quarter, the Bombers would dominate from there. Crosson notched his hat trick on a laser from the center-point prior to the Boston tally. Lee sparked IC's sixth goal, intercepting a pass just outside Oneonta's defensive third and quickly feeding Johnson behind the Oneonta defense for the breakaway score. Lee added his own goal 22-seconds later, taking a feed from Crosson on the left wing and rifling a shot into the top right corner.
 
The third quarter was IC's most prolific of the game, as things really began to open up with the Red Dragons searching for goals. Brumfield got IC going just 39-seconds into the half when he received a sharp feed from Della Puca on top of the crease and quickly turned a slotted a shot home. A Conner-to-Connor connection was good for IC's second, as Crossen fed Till with 8:40 left in the frame. Brumfield and Della Puca again synced up on a similar scoring play to their first of the quarter with 5:47 to go, while Enos and Ozsvath scored roughly two-minutes apart. McCartney capped the scoring 26-seconds after the Ozsvath goal, picking up a ground-ball in the defensive zone and racing coast-to-coast before unleashing a laser into the upper left corner.
 
With things well in control, IC got extensive playing time for many fresh faces in the fourth. The production did not slow down, however, as Fitzpatrick, Turner and Wright all converted for goals in the first half of the frame. Ithaca saw out the contest with solid play on both ends.
 
Ithaca returns to action on Saturday, March 23, in what figures to be a key matchup in the Liberty League race. The Bombers are set to face undefeated 15^th-ranked RPI at Higgins Stadium in a 1:00 p.m. clash.