MEDFORD, Mass. -  For the second time in four days, the No. 20 Ithaca College men's lacrosse team squared off against a Top-3 ranked opponent when it hit the road to face No. 2 Tufts in what was a bit of a surreal evening under the lights in the Boston suburb on Tuesday night. Despite a heroic effort from senior keeper Robby Atwood, the Jumbos continued to have the Bombers number in a 26-11 victory. The loss drops IC's record to 2-3 on the year.
 
Earlier today shockwaves were felt throughout the national landscape, as many institutions throughout the country announced the suspension of their spring athletic seasons amidst the growing uncertainty cast by the developing coronavirus situation. That hit close to home this evening, as Tufts joined a growing list of institutions across the country to officially announce a suspension of on-campus classes and extra-curricular activities just prior to opening faceoff of tonight's anticipated contest. In what could possibly be the Jumbos last game this spring, the hosts certainly played like it. Behind a steady barrage of pressure in all zones, Tufts put together an impressive performance against an IC squad that was game early, but could not keep pace. Tufts tied a program record with 26 goals behind an astounding 100-shot performance, which was the most ever against Ithaca in a regulation contest. The 26 goals against were the most given up by Ithaca since a 27-2 defeat to Hobart in 1988 and a 27-3 loss to Syracuse in 1977.
 
Despite the hefty goal totals, the Bombers battled to the very finish, none moreso than senior keeper Robby Atwood who had a career night amidst the unprecedented pressure delivered by a desperate and hungry Tufts squad. Atwood recorded a career-high 32 saves in the losing effort, keeping the Bombers in the contest until midway through the second when the Tufts pressure broke through.
 
Offensively, Ithaca put together a strong finish to the night with a nine-goal second half albeit with the game mostly out of reach. Junior Connor Brumfield netted five goals to tie for a game-high, while junior Dillon Fitzpatrick also netted a hat trick on the night. Adding one goal apiece were senior Ryan Ozsvath, junior Connor Till, and sophomore Blake Eischen.
 
Forcing caused turnovers on the night were junior Matt Pagliaro, senior Sean Seaberg, junior Jake Hall-Goldman and junior Connor Till. Pagliaro finished with two on the night, while the other three Bombers each accumulated one.
 
The first quarter began quite competitively between the two sides. Although Tufts netted the first two scores on the night, IC began to battle back in the latter stages of the frame. Brumfield pulled one back for the Bombers on a nice wrap-around shot from right-to-left across the cage. The Jumbos answered with a goal from Garrett Samuelson a little over a minute later; however, IC again shaved the deficit to a single goal at 3-2 with a little over two-minutes to play. Working deep in the shot clock, Fitzpatrick received a center-point pass from Drew Turner and rifled home a top-shelf shot inside the upper-left corner with just two-seconds remaining on the shot clock.
 
Tufts began to take control over the final two minutes of the first quarter. The Jumbos controlled the faceoff circle for most of the night and used that advantage to dominate the possession game. Three consecutive scores over the final 1:32 of the quarter sent the Jumbos into the first intermission up 6-2.
 
The second quarter is where the hosts took control. Despite Atwood continuing to pile up the saves, the domination in possession and the unrelenting offensive pressure took paid dividends for the Jumbos. Tufts outscored IC 8-0 in the second quarter to blow things open at the halftime break.
 
Neither side let up despite the contest being fairly decided heading into the final 30-minutes. Fitzpatrick highlighted the third quarter for IC keying a four-goal Ithaca response with a pair of goals to notch his first hat trick of the season. On the first, Fitzpatrick struck in transition, charging up the right wing on a odd-man partial break, before rifling a shot inside the right post. The second came from the left wing, again picking the top corner. Brumfield netted a slick behind-the-back score in traffic with 2:14 left, while Blake Eischen also whipped home a shot while flashing across the slot to begin the scoring in the frame.
 
The fourth quarter featured a five-goal output by the visitors. Brumfield netted three of the scores to mark his highest single-game goal total of the season. Ozsvath got in on the act with 3:14 to play, scoring a man-up tally from the left wing. Till added his lone score from the center-point briefly before the final scores from Brumfield and Ozsvath with 4:21 to play.
 
Ithaca's next contest is currently scheduled for Wednesday, March 18, when the Bombers head to SUNY Oneonta for a non-league clash at 4:00 p.m. The Bombers Liberty League opener, originally scheduled for this coming Saturday, March 14, at Skidmore was officially postponed earlier today. Stay tuned for further updates as the situation develops.