POTSDAM, N.Y. – There were some major postseason implications on the line when the Ithaca College men's lacrosse team hit the road to face Clarkson in the regular-season finale on Wednesday afternoon. Although the Liberty League Tournament field had already been confirmed heading into the day, the third-through-sixth slots in the seeding were still yet to be decided. The Bombers embarked on the day with the best possible seed it could attain being fourth and they ultimately achieved the objective.
 
Ithaca turned in its most comprehensive road performance of the season in its end of the bargain. The Bombers surged past Clarkson for a 17-5 victory over the Golden Knights. Shortly after the conclusion of IC's game, No. 19 St. Lawrence pulled away down the stretch for an 11-6 victory over No. 17 RPI. With all three teams deadlocked at 5-3, the league had to dive deep into its tiebreaker criteria to sort out the final seeding. Ultimately, RPI would end the day with the third seed despite the loss due to overall record against opponents with winning percentages above .500. With the third seed going to the Engineers, it next went to criteria between Ithaca and St. Lawrence, which the Bombers took by virtue of the team's 12-11 double-overtime head-to-head win back on March 27.
 
Ithaca put together one of its best offensive performances of the season in today's victory. IC came out on a mission with a purposeful opening 30-minutes, outscoring the Golden Knights 6-to-1 in the first quarter and taking a 10-2 lead to the intermission. The hosts never truly threatened down the stretch. The Bombers extended their advantage with three unanswered goals in the third quarter, before outpacing Clarkson 4-to-3 in the final quarter.
 
Ithaca was paced by another big offensive effort by senior midfielder Josh Della Puca. He registered six points on four goals and two helpers to lead all scorers. Junior attacker Ryan Ozsvath added five points on a four-goal and one-assist performance, while senior midfielder Owen Smith racked up four points on three goals and one assist.
 
Three other IC players posted multi-point efforts on the day. Sophomore midfielder Dillon Fitzpatrick tallied two goals on the day, classmate Connor Till posted one goal and one assist, while senior midfielder Conner Crosson finished with two helpers on the afternoon. Senior midfielder Brendan King, redshirt-junior Sean Seaberg and junior Kevin Enos each added one goal apiece, while sophomore attacker Connor Brumfield chipped in one assist.
 
Defensively, Seaberg and first-year Conor Caiazza finished with two caused turnovers each. King joined a host of underclassmen in Matt Pagliaro, Drew Turnover, Drew Stoler and Drew German with one caused turnover each. King led all IC players with seven ground-balls.
 
It was one of the strongest days for IC's faceoff men this season. First-year Cam MacNicol finished 9-for-13 at the 'X', while Matt Pagliaro posted an 8-for-12 mark on draws.
 
In goal, first-year Connor Thornton posted 12 saves in playing the majority of the contest. Junior Robby Atwood relieved Thornton late and made one addition stop over the final half of the fourth quarter.
 
It was a dynamite start for Ithaca on the day, as the Bombers jumped out to a commanding lead in the blink of an eye. The Bombers put four goals behind the Clarkson keeper in the first 7:05 of the game. Della Puca got IC started with the opener 1:59 into the game, finishing off a feed from Owen Smith. The senior midfielder netted his own goal to double IC's lead 2:19 later, while Enos and Till capped the run with goals 42-seconds apart.
 
Although the Golden Knights clawed one goal back on Billy Bergan's opener for the hosts, Ithaca would add two more before heading to the first intermission. Ozsvath scored an man-up tally with 3:03 to go in the quarter, while Smith added his second of the quarter to up the lead to 6-1 with 1:57 to play.
 
Ithaca carried the strong start to the second quarter with three goals in the opening 5:02 of the frame to break things open even further. Ozsvath continued to wield the hot stick, scoring consecutive goals during the run to begin the quarter. Seaberg capped the run with a transition score to makr things 9-1 with 9:58 left in the half.
 
The Bombers continued to burn the Golden Knights on the man-up with a pair of goals spanning the halftime break. Della Puca closed out the first-half scoring with a man-up score with 6:35 to go in the second. Ozsvath netted his second man-up score of the day with 9:20 left in the third quarter to push the lead to 11-2.
 
Ithaca pulled away over the second session with those man-up scores the beginning of what ultimately would materialize as an 8-0 run with everything was said and done. Della Puca and Fitzpatrick would score twice over that extended run, while King and Smith also added scoring tallies that elevated the lead as wide as 17-2.
 
Clarkson posted three goals in the final 10-minutes to close the game on the lone bright note for the hosts.
 
With today's results, Ithaca is set to host No. 19 St. Lawrence in the fourth-seed vs. fifth-seed matchup in the Liberty League Quarterfinal Round this Saturday, April 27. Start time at Higgins Stadium is set for 4:00 p.m., as the second part of a lacrosse doubleheader on South Hill. The IC Women will conclude their regular season against RIT in the opening game of the day at noon.