By: Ryan Collins '26, Athletics Communications Student Assistant
ITHACA, N.Y. – The Ithaca College men's lacrosse team is primed and ready for the 2025 season. After finishing 8-8 overall and 1-6 in Liberty League play last year, the Bombers will open their campaign on the road against a tough opponent, the No. 15 ranked St. John Fisher.
Head coach
Tommy Pearce returns for his second season at the helm, alongside assistant coach
Torin Varn. Ithaca's roster features 25 upperclassmen heading into this season.
"We have veteran depth returning at both ends of the field and in the midfield with guys that are hungry to win," said Pearce. "Those guys are doing a great job of setting a high standard for the way that we play and practice every day. We're definitely leaning on our leadership to take us through a loaded schedule this spring."
Some of the returning upperclassmen this season include
Kyle Proctor,
Charlie Niebuhr, and
Sam Baker. Proctor led the team last year with 19 assists and 14 goals, while Niebuhr led with 30 goals, and Baker contributed 20 points. Niebuhr is back for his graduate season, having surpassed 100 career points a season ago. Also returning is classmate
Kyle Savery, who is back from injury. Savery has produced 22 career goals and added 16 assists. He, along with
Tim Rogers, is fully healthy. Rogers was an immediate contributor during his first season on campus but missed all of the 2024 season.
"I think we had a great fall all around. We practiced really hard, covered a lot, and the guys put in a lot of work," added Pearce. "For our first four weeks of the spring, we've covered a lot to be game-ready, and the guys have been resilient as we navigate through preseason weather. We are looking forward to shifting into game-preparation mode this week."
Chris Sohl is also back for his senior campaign as he was among the best faceoff specialists in the Liberty League. Sohl won 136-of-218 faceoffs and scooped up 86 ground balls, which ranked sixth within the conference. Anchoring the IC defense will be key returnees
Jace Dockx,
PJ Roth, and
Ryan Maher. Both
Michael Gillam and
Jared Sedlock have caused their fair share of turnovers from the midfield.
The Bombers will open their season on the road on Saturday at 3 p.m. against No. 15 St. John Fisher University. The contest was moved and will be played indoors at the Pinnacle Athletic Campus and Events Center in Victor, N.Y. They will then have their home opener on February 26 at 4 p.m. against SUNY Geneseo.
Ithaca will open Liberty League play at home on March 22 at 2 p.m. against Vassar College. The Bombers will close out the regular season and Liberty League play on April 22 at 1 p.m. on the road against Skidmore College.
In recent years, the Liberty League has been arguably the most competitive Division III conference in men's lacrosse, and this year is no different with four schools nationally ranked (No. 3 RIT, No. 7 RPI, No. 12 St. Lawrence, and No. 19 Union College).
"The team's goal is to be playing in our conference postseason. Our conference is so challenging that we think if we can do that, then we are also possibly in contention for an NCAA tournament berth if we have a strong non-conference resume," said Pearce.
