RADNOR, Pa. – The 13^th-ranked Ithaca College men's lacrosse team kicked off its Spring Break on Saturday afternoon when it traveled to the Keystone State for the first leg of the week-long trip. The Bombers had the marquee matchup of the non-league schedule on tap with a clash at undefeated seventh-ranked Cabrini. Unfortunately, IC struggled to get much going against the perennially talented Cavaliers, dropping a 17-5 decision to fall to 2-1 on the season.
 
The Bombers knew Saturday represented one of their toughest tests of the season. With a youthful team facing its first true road adversity, Saturday turned into a lesson that the squad will hopefully grow from as the season continues. Although Ithaca stayed within striking distance through the opening 20-25-minutes of the contest, Cabrini used a surge over the final eight minutes heading into halftime to break things open. The Bombers never were able to recover, as the Cavaliers stretched the lead to double-digits in the second half, before Ithaca could tack on a couple late goals to close out the day.
 
Junior attacker Dan Lee led the Bombers with two goals on the afternoon. The scores were his third and fourth on the young season. Adding goals for IC were seniors Owen Smith and Brendan King, as well as sophomore Connor Brumfield. Each player added one goal for the Bombers. Senior midfielder Josh Della Puca also joined Lee with a multi-point effort, recording two assists on the afternoon. Sophomore Connor Till and first-year Patrick Horan each posted one assist, Horan's representing his first career collegiate point.
 
Defensively, IC had issues containing Cabrini's experienced and dynamic attack. Sophomore Jake Hall-Goldman paced the team with three caused turnovers and four ground-balls. Adding one caused turnover apiece were: seniors Sean Seaberg and Brendan King, sophomore Logan Adams, as well as freshmen Connor Caiazza, Matt Pagliaro, Demetri Lowry and Connor Thornton.
 
Thornton was tabbed with his first career defeat in the Ithaca cage. He posted nine saves and conceded 15 goals in 45-minutes of action. Junior Robby Atwood and sophomore TJ Brennan split the final quarter. Atwood posted two saves and allowed one Cavalier goal, while Brennan conceded once as well.
 
Cabrini jumped out on the front foot with a quick-strike offense that capitalized for three scores in the first 3:23 of regulation. Jordan Krug was the creator early for the Cavaliers, assisting on the first two goals, before whipping one past Thornton himself to cap the flurry.
 
The Bombers pulled one back when Brumfield fired home his eighth goal of the campaign with Ithaca working on a man-up situation with 8:55 to go in the first. Jacob Klein responded with a goal by the hosts with a little over five-minutes remaining in the opening quarter to cap the scoring heading into the second.
 
Ithaca again closed within two goals with 8:03 remaining in the half on Lee's first of the afternoon. Taking a feed from Till on the right wing, he lasered a shot into the upper left corner to put Ithaca back within striking distance at 4-2. Unfortunately, that was as close as Ithaca would get for the remainder of the afternoon. A three-goal surge for Cabrini over a 49-second span widened the home sides lead to 7-2 with a little over six-minutes to go in the second. Although Brendan King would finish off a Della Puca feed with 4:13 left, Cabrini scored twice down the stretch to widen the advantage. Klein capped the home side's big opening half with his second of the day to send the Cavaliers into the break leading 9-3.
 
The third quarter was all Cabrini, as Ithaca struggled to gain much traction in terms of possession or scoring chances. The Cavaliers outscored Ithaca 6-0 in the third quarter to put things well out of reach.
 
The Bombers showed fight in the final frame, as many of the team's reserves saw significant action. Lee sent home his second goal of the afternoon with 10:43 remaining, while Owen Smith capped the day's scoring on an unassisted tally with 21-seconds left in regulation.
 
Ithaca returns to action on Thursday, March 14, when it opens Liberty League play against Skidmore in a neutral-site contest at the U.S. Lacrosse Headquarters in Sparks, Maryland. Start time for the contest at Tierney Stadium is 12:00 p.m.