As the top regular-season team in the Liberty League Championship Tournament, the No. 17/18 Ithaca College men’s lacrosse team had high expectations heading into the playoffs. After receiving a bye, the Bombers were upset by the Union College Chargers 10-4 in the semifinal round May 1 at Higgins Stadium.
Although the Bombers lost the right to an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, the team earned an at-large bid and will face the Hope College Flying Dutchmen in the first round May 8 in Lewiston, Maine.
The Bombers’ offense failed to find the back of the net until over nine minutes into the second quarter, granting the Chargers time to take a 5-0 lead. IC produced 33 shots, just two fewer than Union. What posed an issue for the Bombers was generating adequate shooting space and placing the ball between the pipes, recording just 15 of those shots on goal.
The Bombers, hungry for a goal in the early portion of the second quarter, narrowly missed an opportunity to get on the board. Junior midfielder Will Kleine wrapped around to the middle of the field and created a narrow but viable opening, and took the shot. The ball barely missed outside, ricocheting off the orange crossbar back into Union’s possession.
The heavy crowd of Bomber fans in the stands felt a small glimpse of hope in the final minute of the first half, when junior midfielder Ethan Adrid cut the lead to three with the help of junior midfielder Danny Loss.
With seven seconds left before the halftime buzzer, the Bombers took a shot but missed. Senior attacker Tim Rogers then started the clock behind the goalie, while senior attacker Brendan Occhino slipped around a defender, quickly received the pass and left the goalkeeper with little reaction time from right in front of the crease with just a second left to play.
The Bombers cut the Chargers’ lead to a comfortable margin of two entering the third quarter, but could not score again until five minutes into the fourth, although IC’s solid defensive performance prolonged the hope of making the championship game.
After a long and somber post-game huddle, the Bombers walked in their usual two-person row out to fans applauding, commending a hard-fought season. Emotions were running high, especially for seniors unsure if they had just taken off their helmets for the last time in their careers.
Despite the upset, the Bombers reached two of their pre-season goals: reaching the semi-final game and carving a spot in the NCAA tournament bracket for the first time since 2018.
Moving beyond the first round will be a high mountain to climb, playing against the undefeated Flying Dutchmen, averaging 16.5 goals per game.
Although the Bombers will be graduating 13 seniors, the team has a bright future under head coach Tommy Pearce and will look to younger members, like first-year Harry O’Neil, starting defenseman and long-stick midfielder.
“I’m looking forward to just seeing how this team develops,” O’Neil said. “We have a lot of seniors that are playing really well this year and are really helping us out win games down the stretch, but I’m really excited to see who steps up next year and all the different guys that are gonna be able to get their chance to play next year. It’s gonna be super fun to watch.”
