Men's Lacrosse Gears Up For Liberty League Semifinal Against No. 12 St. Lawrence

Canton, N.Y. - The Ithaca College Men's Lacrosse team will head up to Canton, N.Y. to take on No. 12 St. Lawrence in the Liberty League Semifinals on Wednesday, May 5 at 4:00 p.m. Ithaca earned the No. 3 seed in the conference tournament by going 4-2 in Liberty League play and earning the tie-braker over Union by way of an 11-10 win on April 21. St. Lawrence dominated the first meeting between the sides, riding a 12-goal mid-game run to a 17-7 victory.

Ithaca is 6-3 overall on the season, including a 4-0 record at Higgins Stadium. Ithaca started the season with wins over Geneseo and Nazareth, before suffering a defeat at then-No. 17 St. John Fisher. A COVID pause due to contact tracing, but came out of the pause with an 11-10 win in the Liberty League opener against Clarkson. The Bombers then faced their most daunting stretch of the season, losing to No. 1 RIT, defeating then-No. 8 Union in thrilling fashion, and then losing to then-No. 14 St. Lawrence. Ithaca closed out the regular season with dominant wins over Skidmore and Vassar.

The Bombers offense is led by some younger guys, as three of the top four point scorers are sophomores or first years. Jake Erickson leads the way with 38 points, including a team-high 22 assists. John Sramac leads the team in goals with 23, and is second in points with 34. Connor Brumfield, Charlie Niebuhr, Drew Turner, and Connor Till round out the top scorers for Ithaca.

Defensively, Jake Hall-Goldman has caused a team-high 21 turnovers on the season, while Hunter Wallace leads the team in ground balls with 44. Cameron MacNicol has taken the vast majority of faceoffs for Ithaca, going 109-232 on the year. Connor Thornton has started every game in goal for the Bombers, making 119 saves for a save percentage of .541.

The Saints enter the game with a 7-2 record (5-2 LL). locking up the No. 2 seed by winning their last three games of the season. St. Lawrence brings a balanced scoring attack into the tournament, with eight players posting double figure points on the season. Mark Mahoney and Jack Hennessey lead the Saints with 30 and 29 points, respectively.

St. Lawrence's defense is equally as balanced, with three players leading the way with 11 caused turnovers. Brendan Brigham and Zach Prime have taken a majority of the faceoffs for the Saints, with both winning better than 60 percent of their attempts. William Helm started eight of St. Lawrence's nine games, making 77 saves for a save percentage of .550.

The winner of Wednesday's game will play the winner of top-seeded and top-ranked RIT, and fourth-seeded and 14th-ranked Union in the Liberty League Championship Game. The game is scheduled for Saturday, May 8. The highest remaining seed will host the championship game.

Players Mentioned

#15 Connor Brumfield: A; 5' 10"; Senior

#6 Jake Erickson: A; 6' 0"; Sophomore

#2 Jake Hall-Goldman: D; 6' 1"; Senior

#20 Cameron MacNicol: M/FO; 5' 10"; Junior

#1 Connor Thornton: GK; 6' 4"; Junior

#22 Connor Till: M; 6' 2"; Senior

#17 Drew Turner: M; 6' 1"; Junior

#33 Charlie Niebuhr: A; 6' 3"; First Year

#41 Hunter Wallace: D/LSM; 5' 10"; First Year

#40 John Sramac: A; 6' 2"; First Year

Players Mentioned

#15 Connor Brumfield
: 5' 10"; Senior
: A

#6 Jake Erickson
: 6' 0"; Sophomore
: A

#2 Jake Hall-Goldman
: 6' 1"; Senior
: D

#20 Cameron MacNicol
: 5' 10"; Junior
: M/FO

#1 Connor Thornton
: 6' 4"; Junior
: GK

#22 Connor Till
: 6' 2"; Senior
: M

#17 Drew Turner
: 6' 1"; Junior
: M

#33 Charlie Niebuhr
: 6' 3"; First Year
: A

#41 Hunter Wallace
: 5' 10"; First Year
: D/LSM

#40 John Sramac
: 6' 2"; First Year
: A