No. 1! Ithaca Earns Top Spot in Poll for 1st Time
NIKE/LACROSSE MAGAZINE POLL USILA POLL
ITHACA, N.Y. — For the first time in program history, the Ithaca College men's lacrosse team is the number one ranked squad in Division III after completing a perfect regular season in the Empire 8 with a pair of conference wins.
The Bombers (16-1, 8-0 Empire 8) moved up one spot from No. 2 in both polls following conference wins against Elmira College (22-3) and Hartwick College (16-3) to extend their school-record winning streak to 14 games.
Ithaca, which earned the Empire 8's regular season championship and will host a semifinal contest, leapt over previously-undefeated Salisbury (18-1) for the top spot in the national polls in both the Nike/Lacrosse Magazine Division III poll, and the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) Coaches' poll.
The NCAA regional rankings, where IC was ranked third last week, are released Wednesday afternoon.
Junior
John Januszkiewicz scored nine points on seven goals with two assists in the wins, while junior
Jack Shumway and freshman
Josh Della Puca added five goals and one assist during the week.
Senior
Michael Walker and sophomores
Jake Cotton and
Stephen Morrell each contributed six points (four goals, two assists) as Ithaca concluded the regular season 8-0 against conference foes.
Against Elmira, the Bombers won 86.2 percent of their faceoffs (25 of 29), setting a season-high for faceoff winning percentage as sophomore
Steven Landspurg won 91.7 percent of his faceoffs (11 of 12), and junior
Grant Osadchey won 90.9 percent of his faceoffs (10 of 11).
IC held Elmira scoreless for 37:06 bridging the second, third, and fourth quarters in holding an opponent to five or fewer goals for the 10th time in 16 games.
In the regular-season finale, Osadchey won 75 percent of his faceoffs (12 of 16) and collected eight groundballs as Ithaca won 70 percent of faceoffs (16 of 23) on the day.
Senior
Scott Sidnam, the reigning USILA Division III North Defensive Player of the Week, made nine saves and allowed two goals in 45 minutes of action to improve to 16-1.
The Bombers, who lead the nation in scoring offense (17.53 goals per game) have scored 15 or more goals in 16 of 17 games. Cotton (34 goals, 44 assists, 78 points) leads IC in points and assists, followed by Shumway (42G, 12A), Januszkiewicz (37G, 16A), Walker (24G, 13A), Della Puca (23G, 11A), Morrell (27G, 6A), and sophomore
Kaelan Fitzpatrick (19G, 14A).
Defensively, Ithaca ranks fourth in goals allowed per game (5.82). Senior All-American defender
Eli Gobrecht leads the team in caused turnovers (48) and is second in groundballs (77), while Osadchey leads in groundballs (82).
Ithaca will host the Empire 8 postseason tournament, starting with a semifinal against St. John Fisher College at 4 p.m. Wednesday afternoon at Higgins Stadium. If the Bombers win, they will host the conference championship Saturday.
The winner of the Empire 8 postseason tournament earns an automatic qualifier into the NCAA Division III tournament. Ithaca last won the conference championship in 2014, winning a first-round NCAA game before falling in the second round.