ITHACA, N.Y. – The Ithaca College men's lacrosse team concluded its season-long four-game homestand on Wednesday afternoon when it returned to the turf a Higgins Stadium for another huge Liberty League matchup against undefeated No. 18 St. Lawrence. In a game that go well beyond regulation it was the Bombers that prevailed, scoring a sudden-victory goal with 1:14 remaining in the second overtime session to push the home side on top in a 12-11 final. The win keeps Ithaca right in the thick of the Liberty League chase, improving the team's record to 5-2 on the year and 2-1 in league action.
 
Senior midfielder Owen Smith provided the heroics for IC in the extra-session. With time running short on the shot-clock and just over a minute remaining in the second overtime period, Smith took possession of the ball on the left wing and looped around the cage. Emerging from behind the cage he gained a sliver of separation from his marking defender, enough that he was able to make an inside cut and a strong power move towards the near-side post. He used his strength to fend off a defending check and rifled a shot that ruffled the side netting just inside the near-side post. Smith was immediately engulfed by a swarm of celebrating teammates, knowing that the Bombers just recorded a huge victory that could significantly impact the trajectory of this season moving forward.
 
Ithaca entered the day knowing that Wednesday's matchup against St. Lawrence would be huge on a multitude of levels. Not only did it represent another opportunity to score a resume win against a regional opponent, but it also was effectively a must-win game if the team harbored hopes of securing a Liberty League regular-season title. Coming off a closely contested 13-11 defeat to RPI over the weekend, the Bombers showed the resolve and mental fortitude necessary to secure the huge win that will keep the Bombers within striking distance of the top of the standings.
 
At one point early in the fourth quarter it appeared that IC may win the game comfortably. St. Lawrence's Conor Caffrey was whistled for an illegal stick during the intermission between the third and fourth quarters, gifting IC a one-minute un-releasable advantage to begin the quarter. IC took 41-seconds to capitalize with senior midfielder Josh Della Puca picking out junior attacker Ryan Ozsvath with a perfect pass that the latter turned and whipped five-hole to put Ithaca up 10-7. Ithaca won the ensuing possession and had 19-seconds of carry over man-up advantage to potentially widen the margin to four. However, Wednesday's contest certainly had some crazy twists, turns and momentum swings down the stretch.
 
St. Lawrence pushed back in the fourth quarter, buckling down defensively and launching an offensive response as well. The Saints scored four straight goals with Harrison Koch's second of the day capping the run to give the visitors their first lead of the day at 11-10 with 4:30 to play. The Bombers turned to Ozsvath for the response, which came 1:26 later when he scored his fifth goal of the afternoon the equalize the score with 3:04 left in regulation. Ozsvath created the play by forcing a turnover on St. Lawrence Alex Terry on a strong ride play. The junior attacker immediately made a bee-line for the vacated cage, while Brumfield scooped up the loose ball and quickly hit Ozsvath with the pass. He popped it into the empty cage to tie the score at 11-all.
 
Both teams would have chances down the stretch, while the IC defense put together a huge stand in the waning seconds of regulation to force a shot-clock violation. The effort sent the game to overtime, Ithaca's first time going beyond regulation this season.
 
The first overtime session was dominated by Ithaca in terms of possession, but IC was not able to generate much in the way of quality scoring chances. Both sides committed three turnovers in the first extra session. The biggest moment came in the final seconds of the frame, as first-year keeper Connor Thornton made the biggest save of his fledgling collegiate career. He stoned St. Lawrence Jack Hennessey on an absolute rocket shot from the high slot, snapping the ball out of the air with his stick through heavy traffic. The clutch stop by the rookie sent things to a second overtime in which IC would strike pay-dirt.
 
The Bombers earned a glorious opportunity in the opening seconds of the second overtime. Although the Saints won the opening faceoff, senior long-stick mid Sean Seaberg forced a turnover that sparked a 3-on-2 counter attack for IC. Senior defensive midfielder Brendan King sprinted down the right flank, but whistled his shot just wide of the post and St. Lawrence won the chase to get possession. Again, Ithaca's defense would hold, keeping the Saints without a shot on cage to force another shot clock violation. The effort set the stage for Smith's game-winner.
 
Della Puca continued to wield the hot stick to pace the Bombers in scoring. He registered a game-high six points on the day, scoring four goals and adding two assists. The goal output was a season-high for the decorated senior, while he continued his streak of six straight appearances registering multiple points. He has now scored 16 points over the past three games, while the big effort pushed him into the team-lead in scoring at 26 points for the season.
 
Ozsvath also entered Wednesday coming off his best performance of the season over the weekend and did nothing to slow that momentum down. He registered a season-high five goals on the afternoon, bringing his count to 10 goals over the same three-game stretch.
 
Junior attacker Dan Lee posted one goal and one assist on the afternoon, joining Della Puca in extending his multi-point streak to six games. Sophomore attacker Connor Brumfield posted two assists, while sophomore Kyle Johnson and Smith posted one point apiece on goals and sophomore Connor Till added a point on an assist.
 
Defensively, sophomores Jake Hall-Goldman and Logan Adams led the way. Both players posted two caused turnovers apiece, while Hall-Goldman finished with one ground-ball and Adams ended the day with three grounders. Junior Aaron McCartney and Seaberg both finished with one caused turnover and four ground-balls.
 
In goal, Thornton turned in the best performance of his young career. He finished with 12 saves to improve his record to 5-2 on the season.