ITHACA, N.Y. – The No. 18 ranked Ithaca College men's lacrosse team suffered its first home loss of the season, falling 16-5 to visiting Cortland in a non-conference matchup Wednesday evening at Higgins Stadium. The Bombers dropped to 9-5 overall with the defeat.
 
Ithaca opened the scoring just 23 seconds into the contest when Brendan Occhino finished a feed from Ryan Connolly after Liam Alberti secured the opening faceoff. Cortland responded quickly, rattling off three unanswered goals to take the early lead.
 
The Bombers halted the Red Dragons' run with 12:03 remaining in the first quarter as Ethan Adrid found the back of the net. Cortland answered once again and continued to apply pressure, taking a 5-2 advantage into the second quarter.
 
Ithaca looked to mount a comeback in the second, but the Cortland defense limited quality opportunities. The Red Dragons capitalized at the offensive end, scoring six unanswered goals in the quarter. At halftime, Ithaca trailed 11-2.
 
Cortland extended its lead early in the third quarter with two more goals before Lucas Proctor sparked the Bombers with an unassisted tally at the 12:02 mark. Despite strong efforts defensively and several key saves from goalkeeper Andrew Minard, Cortland continued to control possession and pace. The Red Dragons carried a 14-4 lead into the final quarter after Adrid added his second unassisted goal in the closing minute of the third.
 
Cortland scored once midway through the fourth quarter before Ithaca's Jack Chaney tallied with 3:25 remaining. Nick Stoecker capped the scoring with an acrobatic finish to seal the 16-5 decision. The Red Dragons notched 26 shots on goal as Minard finished with 10 saves.
 
Next up, Ithaca returns to Liberty League play this weekend with an away trip to Poughkeepsie, N.Y. to square off against Vassar College at 2 p.m. on Saturday.