The Ithaca College lacrosse team sent its seniors off on a high note, defeating Liberty League rival, the Skidmore College Thoroughbreds 15–10 April 27. The Bombers got their first and only conference win of the season.
Both offenses started slow, but Thoroughbreds junior attacker Tim Blue scored the opening goal five minutes in. Bombers sophomore midfielder Cullen Adams quickly answered Blue’s goal, evening the score at one apiece.
Bombers sophomore midfielder Sam Baker gave the South Hill squad their first lead with 5:35 left in the first, wristing the rubber past Thoroughbreds senior goaltender Avery Stamps. The Bombers’ offense started to heat up as Bombers senior midfielder Derek Stout connected with the cage on a bounce-in shot. Less than 10 seconds afterward, Bombers senior attacker John Sramac got a goal of his own. Bombers sophomore attacker Brendan Occhino tallied onto the lead and made it 5–1. The Bombers offense did not stop there, as first-year midfielder Jack Giannuzzi got a goal past Stamps, forcing Thoroughbreds head coach Joe Martin to call a timeout down 6–1 with 1:42 left in the first.
The Bombers’ momentum continued to start the second quarter as Bombers junior midfielder Liam Lennon sneaked one past Adams. Giannuzzi and Baker quickly connected with the net to put the Bombers up 9–1. After eight unanswered goals, Thoroughbreds junior attacker/midfielder Nicolo Mazzocca helped the green and white to get a shot past Bombers graduate student goalkeeper Cole Corrigan and cut their deficit to 9–2.
The Thoroughbreds offense finally started to gain their stride, with Thoroughbreds senior attacker Charlie McFadden ripping a rocket past Corrigan.
The Bombers were not playing like the bottom-ranked Liberty League offense, as they stopped the Thoroughbreds’ momentum with 4:15 left in the second quarter thanks to graduate student midfield/attacker Chris Kiely scoring his first goal of the season. Sramac and junior attacker Peter Nowlan also tallied onto the lead, putting the Bombers up 12–3. After some excellent passing behind the cage, Occhino scored his second goal of the afternoon to conclude the first half with the Bombers on top, 13–3.
Nothing changed to start the second half; junior attacker Kyle Proctor bounced a goal past Stamps, increasing the Bombers’ lead to 14–3. Thoroughbreds senior midfielder Matthew Pinckney ended his team’s scoring deficit, slashing the cage and their deficit to 14–4. Pinckney’s teammate, Thoroughbreds junior midfielder Brian Gonsalves, connected with one of his own to give the green and white some much-needed momentum. Thoroughbreds sophomore midfielder David Koffler kept the offense going, lowering their deficit to eight goals. Adams stopped the Thoroughbreds’ momentum with his second goal of the day. Blue answered Adams’ goal right after the Thoroughbreds called a timeout, making it 15–7 as the third quarter came to a close.
It took five minutes, but Mazzocca scored on Corrigan thanks to an underhand shot for the first goal of the fourth quarter.
The Bombers defense hung on, and Sramac held the ball as the clock hit triple zeroes to conclude senior night with a 15–10 victory.
In the heat of the moment, Sramac said it had not hit him yet that this was his final game as an Ithaca Bomber.
“I’m not sure if it has set in yet that I’m actually finished,” Sramac said. “I don’t really have any words, to be honest. I’m just happy we got to end the year on the win.”
Adams expressed how important these graduates were to him as an athlete and a person. Adams said they were a group of players that he looked up to both this year and last year.
“I love that group of seniors,” Adams said. “Last year, they were great role models. This year, as my true leaders, they stepped up and it was awesome. That group is pretty special and I’m going to miss them.”
The Bombers finish the season with an 8–8 record thanks to this bittersweet win.
