ITHACA, N.Y. – Following a 10–6 season that saw the Bombers go 3–4 in conference play and miss out on the Liberty League Championships, the Ithaca College men's lacrosse team has its sights set on a bounce back year.
 
The Bombers won nine of their first 11 games of the 2022 season, including a pair of wins over Liberty League opponents, but a 1–4 stretch to end the season derailed hopes of a postseason push. A loss to RPI in the regular season finale knocked them out of contention, but the Bombers are bringing back several key contributors all over the field.
 
Senior attackman Jake Erickson returns alongside junior attackman John Sramac, the Bombers two leading scorers of the 2022 campaign. Erickson was named to the 2022 All-Liberty League First Team after scoring 42 goals with a .344 shooting percentage, as well as dishing out 31 assists and accumulating 73 points.
 
Sramac followed close behind with 41 goals on .390 shooting percentage, good for 50 points in total with nine assists. Erickson and Sramac ranked seventh and eighth in the Liberty League in goals scored, respectively. Two Bombers that began to breakout last season were junior attackman Charlie Niebuhr and sophomore attackman Kyle Proctor. Niebuhr was sixth on the team in scoring, netting 14 goals with two assists, and Proctor finished fourth in scoring, compiling 11 goals and 29 assists.
 
On the back end, senior goalkeeper Ryan LaForty returns to start in net after a breakout junior season in which saw him start 13 games and play in 15. LaForty made 173 saves on the season, good for a .544 save percentage, and owned a 9–5 record as a starter. Joining him to lead the defense is senior defenseman Wesley Hudkins, who was named a Third Team Preseason All-American by USA Lacrosse Magazine. Hudkins forced 21 turnovers in the 2022 season, good for ninth in the conference, and was third in ground balls for the Bombers with 35. The Bombers leader in ground balls last season was sophomore midfielder Chase Gulick, who picked up 79 on the season. Gulick was sixth in the Liberty League in that category and will return to lead the Bombers in the faceoff circle after a freshman season with 138 faceoff wins and a .515 faceoff percentage.
 
Additionally, the Bombers are bringing back an experienced group of graduate students from last year's class of seniors, namely midfielders Connor Brumfield and Drew Turner, defenseman Demetri Lowry, and attackman Blake Eischen. Brumfield was third last season in scoring with 39 points (27 goals and 12 assists) and was also named to the 2022 All-Liberty League Second Team. Turner appeared in all 16 games for the Bombers and was seventh on the team in scoring with 12 goals, three assists, and 15 points. Eischen had a career year in 2022, setting career highs in every offensive category with 19 goals, eight assists, and 27 points.
 
The Bombers will be coached by Jeff Long, the winningest coach in program history and one of the most decorated coaches in the country, for the 36^th season. Long is joined by assistant coach Torin Varn, who returned to South Hill last season and enters his second season as a full-time assistant coach. Also returning is assistant coach Joe Solomon, who spent five seasons with the Bombers, his most recent being the 2016 season. Solomon helped the program to a 72–24 record during his first stint with the Bombers and specializes in defensive and goalie coaching.
 
As the Bombers are returning most of their starters on the offensive side of the ball, while also bringing back key pillars on the defensive side, they welcome in 16 first years and one transfer.
 
2023 Liberty League Men's Lacrosse Preseason Poll
 
Place. Team, Points
1. RIT, 49 (7)
2. Union, 41 (1)
3. St. Lawrence, 38
4. RPI, 28
5. Ithaca, 27
6. Clarkson, 20
7. Vassar, 12
8. Skidmore, 9
 
(First-place votes are in parentheses)
 
The Bombers finished fifth in the Liberty League in 2022 behind RIT, who won the conference title for a 10th-straight season, followed by Union College, St. Lawrence University, and RPI. The top two, RIT and Union, faced off in the NCAA Division III Championship that saw the Tigers defeat the Dutchmen 12–10.
 
Ithaca College begins its 2023 season at home at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, February 22 at Higgins Stadium against SUNY Oneonta.