Eight Unanswered Goals Lead Ithaca Men's Lacrosse Team to Convincing Victory

Eight Unanswered Goals Lead Ithaca Men's Lacrosse Team to Convincing Victory

Bookmark and Share



ITHACA, N.Y. – The 15th-ranked Ithaca College men's lacrosse team (1-0) posted an 18-7 victory over visiting Oswego to kick off its 2014 season Tuesday afternoon at Higgins Stadium.

After leading 4-2 at the end of the first, Ithaca posted eight unanswered second-period goals for a 12-2 advantage at intermission. The Bombers increased the gap to 16-4 at the end of the third. Oswego edged Ithaca, 3-2, in the final frame for an 18-7 final.

Senior Pat Slawta (Bethesda, Md./Walt Whitman) led all players with six points on four goals and a pair of assists. Junior James Manilla (Fairport, N.Y./Fairport) and rookie John Januszkiewicz (Orchard Park, N.Y./Orchard Park) added five points each. Januszkiewicz matched Slawta's four goals and chipped in an assist, while Manilla had a game-best three assists and two scores. Freshman Justin Bird (Webster, N.Y./Webster Thomas) and senior Ryan Burns (Bradenton, Fla./Lakewood Ranch) had three points apiece. Bird recorded two goals and dished out an assist, while Burns had one tally and two assists. Freshman Alex Sullivan (Cazenovia, N.Y./Cazenovia) and junior Steve Danylyshyn (Fairport, N.Y./Fairport) each had one and one. Matt Greenblatt (North Potomac, Md./Thomas S. Wootton), Jake Long (Fort Washington, Pa./Upper Dublin) and Michael Walker (Haddonfield, N.J./Haddonfield Memorial) accounted for Ithaca's other three scores.

Ithaca was led by senior Brandon Henne (Port Washington, N.Y./Port Washington) who was 13-for-17 in faceoffs. Ithaca led the category, 19-10. Junior Jimmy Ryan (Chevy Chase, Md./The Hill School) collected six ground balls. Defensively, Eli Gobrecht (Ithaca, N.Y./Ithaca) forced a trio of turnovers and senior Casey Schattner (Syracuse, N.Y./West Genesee) added two.

Sophomore Scott Sidnam (Camillus, N.Y./West Genesee), 2013 Empire 8 Goalkeeper of the Year, earned the win in goal. He made six stops in 48:49 of action. Freshmen Justin Isaacs (Woodmere, N.Y./Hewlett) and Jack Deragon (Fort Washington, Pa./Upper Dublin) relieved Sidnam in the final period, helping to seal the double-digit margin.

The Bombers led Oswego 51-30 in shots and 41-29 in ground balls.

Ithaca improved to 15-2 all-time in a series history dating back to 1975. It was the season opener for both squads.

The Bombers will travel to top-ranked Rochester Institute of Technology Saturday, March 1 for a 1 p.m. game.