Ithaca Wraps Up Season with NCAA Second-Round Setback at RIT
ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The 15th-ranked Ithaca College men's lacrosse team (15-5) saw its 2014 season come to an end at top-ranked and undefeated Rochester Institute of Technology (19-0) Saturday afternoon. The Bombers suffered a 20-8 setback at Tiger Stadium, while the Tigers won their 29th straight home contest dating back to March 28, 2012.
Ithaca, who won the Empire 8 AQ and blanked Montclair State in the first round, has dropped seven straight to the national power.
The Bombers were the first on the board, but the Tigers surged to score five straight powering to a 5-2 gap at the end of the first. Composed to start the second, Ithaca twice found the back of the net, pulling within 6-4 at 11:17. RIT scored a pair in a span of eight seconds, but Ithaca added one of its own at the eight-minute mark for an 8-5 game. Another trio put the Tigers ahead 11-5 at 1:39. Freshman
John Januszkiewicz collected a rebound to edge out the buzzer for an 11-6 halftime score.
RIT held Ithaca to two goals in the final 30 minutes of play, one in each quarter. Like the March 1 matchup, RIT outscored Ithaca 5-1 in the third. Trailing 19-7,
Michael Walker tallied his fourth of the day with 8:50 left in the game, a career-best performance for the sophomore. The Tigers finalized all scoring, 20-8, at 7:28.
Despite letting up 20 goals, sophomore
Scott Sidnam made a career-high 18 saves. The Tigers led the shot count, 60-27, lacing 38 on goal. RIT collected 47 ground balls to Ithaca's 29 with each squad winning 15 faceoffs. Junior
Matt Greenblatt won 10 and senior
Brandon Henne five with Greenblatt picking up a team-best seven ground balls.
The Bombers failed seven clears and held a 22-13 gap in turnovers, eight of which were committed in the first frame. The Tigers were a perfect 28-for-28 in clear attempts.
Senior
Pat Slawta dished out two assists to conclude his career ranking on two single-season top-10 lists. He sits seventh with 47 goals and eighth with 72 points scored in 2014. Junior
James Manilla had one goal and one assist against the Tigers. His team-best 40 assists rank fifth on the single-season list.
Additional goals came from seniors
Jake Long and
Ryan Burns, while junior
Jimmy Ryan added one assist.
Ithaca falls to 10-12 all-time in NCAA play and 8-8 under head coach
Jeff Long. The Bombers' 15 victories are the third-most in program history.