Still Ticking: Ithaca Ousts Top Seed Fisher
from press release
PITTSFORD, N.Y. - The Ithaca men's lacrosse team (8-9)
defeated #11 and top-seeded St. John Fisher (16-2) 12-11 in an
Empire 8 semifinal game Friday afternoon at Growney Stadium. The
Bombers advance to Sunday's Empire 8 championship game at Rochester
Institute of Technology at noon. Ithaca is 4-0 all-time in Empire 8
playoff action against the Cardinals, with all four wins coming in
the last five years in the semifinal round.
The back-and-forth contest featured no lead larger than two goals
by either side. Ithaca led 12-11 late in the fourth quarter and the
Cardinals had the ball in the final minute. After Ithaca was
whistled for a pushing penalty with 37.6 seconds left to play. St.
John Fisher's man-up unit worked behind the cage, and an attacking
player stepped in the crease to turn the ball over. Ithaca threw
the ball downfield, St. John Fisher was forced to go the length of
the field in 11 seconds, and St. John Fisher shot wide with two
seconds left.
Ithaca built three one-goal leads in the third quarter of the
back-and-forth affair. Fisher's Ryan Schmidt scored an unassisted
goal with 5:16 left in the third quarter to put the Cardinals ahead
9-8, but senior midfielder Nic Heckman (Sparta/Sparta, N.J.)
answered with 2:48 left in the third, an unassisted goal on a
center-lane drive and shot inside the right post. The Bombers went
ahead 10-9 on a goal from junior midfielder Jay Lucas (Fox
Lane/Bedford Hills) assisted by junior midfielderRyan Lowe
(Fairport/Fairport) with 1:03 left in the quarter. Ithaca never
relinquished the lead.
Ithaca extended the margin to two goals early in the fourth quarter
with Mike Silipo's (Williston-Northampton/Deerfield, Mass.) 11th
goal of the year to make it 11-9 and again on an unassisted goal by
sophomore attackman Devin Weinshank (Long Beach/Long Beach) to make
it 12-10. After Fisher narrowed the deficit to one goal, Ithaca
successfully killed off a man-down situation and junior goalie
David Gal (Loomis Chaffee/Amherst, Mass.) made a close-range
shoulder save with 2:20 to go to set up the final stretch of the
game.
Ithaca took its first lead of the game in the second quarter on the
strength of three-straight goals in a span of less than two
minutes. Lucas started the rally with a bounced shot and a man-up
goal, assisted by Weinshank. Weinshank followed that with another
man-up goal to tie the score 4-4 and then Heckman scored an
unassisted goal 19 seconds later to put Ithaca ahead for the first
time. The Bombers held a 6-5 lead at halftime.
Lucas, Heckman and Weinshank finished the game with three goals
each, while Lowe and Lucashad two assists each. The Bombers
converted 2-of-4 man-up opportunities in the game. Gal made 11
saves in the game. The Bombers forced 15 turnovers to gain
possessions, despite being outdrawn at the faceoff X. Gal and
senior midfielder Nick Neuman (Madison West/Madison, Wis.)picked up
four ground balls each for the Bombers, and Ithaca was 18-for-22 in
clearing attempts.
Ithaca won the regular-season meeting against RIT 10-8 at Upper
Terrace Field. RIT is currently ranked 20th in the USILA Division
III Poll. Ithaca is seeking its second Empire 8 tournament title,
having previously won the championship in 2008 with wins over St.
John Fisher and RIT.
