The stands at Higgins Stadium were packed with wild fans April 22 to see the Ithaca College men’s lacrosse team battle one of its toughest opponents, No. 14 Union College, on Senior Day. The Bombers played tough and vigorously but lost in an overtime golden goal to end the game with a score of 10–9.

The first half was filled with back–and–forth action. Junior attackman Charlie Niebuhr scored the first goal of the game then scored the Bombers’ second goal toward the end of the first quarter. 

Union was able to score two goals as well during the frame, which made the quarter end in a 2–2 tie.

The second quarter was a busy one for the Bombers’ senior goalkeeper Ryan LaForty. LaForty had 9 saves this quarter, playing strong and agile throughout the half. The first half ended with a 3–6 score with Union leading. 

It was during the second half that things started to pick up a bit on both ends of the field. In the beginning, the Bombers started slower than usual, while the Dutchmen were running over Bomber players left and right. 

Then, the Bombers started racking up points. Sophomore attackman Sekou Ibrahima made his shot, bringing the score to 6–4. Junior attackman John Sramac scored off the rebound of another sophomore attackman, Graham Brady. 

After that, the Dutchmen scored another two points, which ultimately brought the end of the third quarter to 8–5, but the Bombers were not giving up yet. 

The fourth quarter was when the Bombers truly shined. Families all over the bleachers were stomping their feet and getting rowdy to support the Bombers. 

Niebuhr scored twice, bringing the Bombers to trail 8–7. Toward the end of the quarter, junior long-stick midfielder Hunter Wallace scored, bringing the bench to its feet. 

The Dutchmen were quick to answer back, but Sramac managed to sneak one more in during the final minute of competition, tying the score 9–9.

The game went into overtime as each team played for the golden goal, where Union scored during the first minute of play. Head coach Jeff Long said the Bombers put up a huge fight and played incredibly the whole game, no matter what the score reads. 

“I thought they played with a lot of effort and focus,” Long said. “They played a full 60 minutes. Areas they need to improve on are finishing and shooting and faceoffs.”

The Bombers are headed to Rochester on April 25 for an afternoon matchup with St. John Fisher University.