The Ithaca College men’s lacrosse team earned its second win in a row March 1, defeating the Widener University Pride 16-4. Sophomore midfielder/attacker Lucas Proctor scored a career-high four goals in this game, propelling the Bombers to a dominant victory on a day when the real feel hit single digits.
The Bombers have not played the Pride in 25 years. Their last matchup was in 2000, when the Bombers walked away with a 14-5 victory.
The game was fast-paced from the start, with both the Bombers and the Pride scoring a pair of goals each. But then the Bombers jumped out in front with a goal from junior attacker Tim Rogers to make it 2-1 Bombers.
Head coach Tommy Pearce said the cold weather was an issue for the Bombers early on, increasing turnovers in the opening minutes.
“When it’s cold, your muscles get cold, it’s harder to control your body movements,” Pearce said. “I think that you tend to drop a few more passes or maybe throw passes a little bit less accurately, which leads to the ball being on the ground more … I think that’s something that impacted both teams, so it’s not like it’s a competitive advantage, but it makes [the game] a little bit sloppy.”
After the Bombers scored a pair of goals to end the first quarter, both teams tallied a goal each early in the second, but then Lucas Proctor ripped one past graduate student goalkeeper Keegan Billie to give the Bombers a 6-2 lead. Despite the winter-esque weather in March, the Higgins Stadium crowd erupted for the Bombers after that one.
With 10:38 left to go in the half, Widener senior long stick midfielder Brian Young decked junior goalkeeper Andrew Minard when he left the goalie crease. After that, the game got intense for two solid minutes, with both teams playing physical lacrosse. Both teams’ players wanted to lay a big hit on the other. The Bombers protected their goalie, pushing their opponents around, and the game continued with an edge from both sides.
After four minutes of back-and-forth action, Lucas Proctor made an incredible play: he wound up well behind the shoulder, heaved one through the posts, and then got hit to the ground — hard. Baker bounced one by Billie, continuing the Bombers’ early dominance and making it an 8-2 game as the first half came to a close.
The IC offense completely dominated on offense in the first half, recording 16 shots on net to Widener’s three.
The second half started no different, with graduate student midfielder Kyle Savery getting an early second-half goal for the Bombers. Soon after, Widener senior goalkeeper Sam Heister was called offside, allowing Lucas Proctor to get his hat trick and score his third of the day. Four minutes after Proctor’s goal, junior midfielder Cullen Adams tacked onto the lead to make it an 11-2 game as the offense refused to slow down.
Lucas Proctor said he is proud of how in sync the offense is and is happy with the hot stretch they have been on.
“I’m super proud of [the offense],” Proctor said. “I’m happy to be out there with my brother [Kyle]. Our team’s got a lot of momentum right now, and we gotta carry it into next week.”
The Pride were finally able to respond with two goals. Still, the South Hill squad swayed the momentum back in its favor, scoring three unanswered, including another goal from Savery. Lucas Proctor followed suit, scoring his fourth goal on the day to push the lead to 15-4.
First-year midfielder Carson Spallone put the dagger in this one, scoring his first career goal as a Bomber. This marked 15 different Bombers who scored a goal on this chilly March afternoon.
Pearce said he had a vision for Lucas Proctor since he was a first-year student, but the midfielder/attacker had a lingering injury. Pearce said he is excited to see what else he can do now that he is back in play.
“[Lucas] had a nagging ankle injury, where he just wasn’t moving the best,” Pearce said. “He’s an extremely two-handed player, so you can’t shade him one way or the other. I think he’s coming along and having a big impact his sophomore year, and it’s exciting to see.”
The Bombers finished the game with 29 shots on goal, while Widener only finished with 10 shots. The Bombers also won faceoffs in dominating fashion, thanks to senior midfielder Chris Sohl, who won 14 of his 15 faceoffs for the Blue and Gold.
Lucas Proctor said he believes the team is feeling good after winning the last two straight games.
“I think we’re pretty confident,” Proctor said. “They blew us out of the water last year, so we gotta get back in.”
The Bombers look to keep riding this wave of momentum to avenge last year’s loss to the Nazareth University Golden Flyers at 4 p.m. March 5 in Rochester, NY.
