Ithaca Climbs to No. 2 In National Polls
USILA COACHES POLL NIKE/LACROSSE MAGAZINE POLL
ITHACA, N.Y. — The Ithaca College men's lacrosse team is riding high after a pair of road wins extended the team's school-record winning streak to 12 games.
After a 2-0 week that included an 18-16 win over No. 2 RIT and a 22-11 win over Alfred University, the Bombers (14-1, 6-0 Empire 8) continue to climb in the national rankings as Ithaca has moved up to No. 2 in both the latest United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) Coaches' poll and the Nike/Lacrosse Magazine Division III poll.
Stevens Institute of Technology is ranked No. 16 in the Nike/Lacrosse Magazine poll, while the Ducks and Nazareth College are among teams also receiving votes in the USLIA/Nike Coaches poll.
The Bombers trail only undefeated Salisbury (18-0) in both polls. The NCAA regional rankings, where IC was ranked seventh last week, are released Wednesday and the Bombers are sure to climb up the regional rankings following a pair of impressive wins.
Ithaca moved up six spots from No. 8 to No. 2 after upsetting the Tigers and snapping RIT's 52-game, regular-season win streak in the process Tuesday afternoon.
In a showdown of top 10 teams, senior
Scott Sidnam made nine saves in the fourth quarter and finished with 17 saves as the Bombers earned their first win over RIT since a 10-8 win on April 10, 2010.
Junior
Jack Shumway scored a career-high six goals, sophomore
Jake Cotton recorded six points on two goals with four assists, and junior
John Januszkiewicz added five points on two goals with three assists in the win, Ithaca's third victory over a top-20 team this year.
Ithaca scored 13 first-half goals against the previously-undefeated Tigers, the most goals any team had scored against RIT this year.
Januszkiewicz then tallied a career-high eight points on seven goals with an assist as the Bombers remained perfect in Empire 8 action with a win over Alfred.
Shumway tacked on five goals, and senior
Michael Walker tallied five points (three goals, two assists) as Ithaca scored its most goals in a game this year in the road win over the Saxons.
With two conference clashes remaining, IC is in sole possession of first place in the conference and owns the tiebreaker over No. 2 Nazareth (11-4, 6-1) and No. 3 Stevens (13-3, 6-1). Ithaca closes the regular season at Elmira (4 p.m. Wednesday) and at Hartwick (12 p.m. Saturday). The Bombers need to win one of their final two games to clinch the regular-season Empire 8 championship.
The Bombers feature a balanced attack that leads the nation in scoring average (17.33 goals per game) and boasts 17 student-athletes who have scored nine or more points this year. Sophomore
Jake Cotton (30 goals, 42 assists, 72 points) leads IC in points and assists, followed by Shumway (37G, 11A), and Januszkiewicz (30G, 14A).
Defensively, Ithaca ranks eighth in goals allowed per game (6.20).