ITHACA, N.Y. — The Ithaca College men's lacrosse team defeated the Misericordia University Cougars Wednesday afternoon by the final score of 16–3. The Bombers improved to 5–1 on the season in the first ever matchup between the two programs.
Four Bombers produced multi-goal performances, with
Derek Stout and
John Sramac recording hat tricks, and
Jake Erickson and
Charlie Niebuhr scored two goals each. The Bombers also got goals from
Kyle Proctor,
Kyle Savery,
Jace Dockx,
Andrew Tinnesz,
Tim Rogers, and
Connor Brumfield. Erickson finished with three assists as well, leading all players with a game-high five points.
Chase Gulick went 9–13 in the faceoff circle with seven groundballs, and
Chris Sohl tied his season high with seven faceoff wins in nine attempts, and also collected three ground balls.
Jared Sedlock also had a productive defensive day, causing two turnovers and collecting four ground balls. In net,
Ryan LaForty stopped eight shots through 45 minutes, posting a save percentage of .889.
Andrew Minard took over in net for fourth quarter, stopping six shots and recording a .750 save percentage.
The Bombers jumped out to a blistering start, with Gulick winning the opening faceoff and Erickson scoring 48 seconds into the game. On the next possession, a Niebuhr shot was saved, but the rebound was picked up by Sramac, who found an open Stout to give the Bombers a two-goal advantage in the opening two minutes. The Cougars won the next faceoff and had their first chance of the game, but LaForty stood tall, and the Bombers got a successful clear. When the Cougars attempted a clear following a save on a shot from
Andrew Tinnesz, an unforced turnover led to a goal from Brumfield. Ithaca kept piling on the goals, as another Gulick faceoff win translated directly to a Stout goal, putting the Bombers up 4–0 with 9:37 left in the first quarter. Following a timeout and faceoff win for Misericordia,
Billy Winters forced a turnover and the Bombers clear led to a transition goal from Proctor off an assist from Niebuhr. 30 seconds later, Sramac scored after a Gulick faceoff win to give the Bombers a six-goal lead. LaForty would make three more saves in the last seven minutes of the first, and the Bombers had a couple of offensive chances that were either stopped, hit a post, or went wide. The first quarter would end with the Bombers leading 6–0.
The second quarter was more of the same for the Bombers, as Erickson scored two minutes in. Less than a minute later, a LaForty save turned into a successful clear, and Erickson assisted Sramac for his second goal of the game. The Cougars had a chance to get on the board with 10 minutes left in the half after going on the man-advantage for a minute, but LaForty made a quick save and shut down the opportunity. After clearing it and still down a man, Niebuhr scored to give the Bombers a nine-goal lead. The Cougars would finally get on the board on another man-advantage opportunity after Connor Bevan scored with just under seven minutes left. Misericordia was not able to string together a run though, as the Bombers would score two goals in the final minute of the half, with Sramac and Stout giving Ithaca an 11–1 lead at the end of the second quarter.
Ithaca was able to coast along the rest of the way with a double-digit lead, with the Cougars never presenting any threat of making this game close. The Bombers got two goals in a 37-second span in the beginning of the third quarter, receiving goals from Tinnesz and Savery. A couple of minutes later, Dockx scored his first career goal for the Bombers, and Niebuhr followed that tally up with another goal just over a minute later. Ithaca's last goal of the game came with 19 seconds left in the quarter, when Hudkins recorded his first point of the season as an assist on a goal from Rogers. In the fourth quarter, Minard entered the game in goal for the Bombers, making his first career appearance. The Cougars would add two goals to their score in the first five minutes of the frame, but the final score would hold up 16–3.
The Bombers dominated this game on the field and in the box score, leading in shots on goal 30–17, ground balls 30–17, caused turnovers 9–7, and faceoffs 16–6.
Ithaca plays Liberty League rival St. Lawrence University at 7 p.m. on Friday, March 31 at Canton, N.Y., and will look to snap its four-game losing streak to the Saints for the second conference matchup of the season.
