Box Score #24 Ithaca 13, Utica 6 - Box Score

Ithaca, NY – The visiting Utica College men's lacrosse team rallied late -- scoring three goals in the final four minutes of the contest -- but an early deficit proved to be too much as nationally-ranked No. 24 Ithaca College earned a 13-6 Empire 8 Conference victory over the Pioneers Wednesday afternoon.  Junior classmates Ben Winkler (Rodman, NY/IHC) and Trent Thomas (Akwesasne, ONT/Massena) each netted two goals to lead the way for the Pioneers. 

UC (7-6, 2-3 Empire 8) has now lost two straight conference contests and the Pioneers remain one game shy of the College's single season record for wins (eight).  Head Coach Mike Parnell and the Pioneers hope to rebound on Saturday when they host Elmira College in their final home contest of the regular season.  Ithaca improved to 8-4 overall and the Bombers remain perfect (3-0) in the highly competitive Empire 8 Conference . 

By all accounts it was a fairly even contest in the scorebook, with Bombers earning a slight edge in shots (33-31) and face-offs (13-of-22), as the Pioneers were able to cause 20 turnovers compared to the home team's 19.  Unfortunately for Utica, the Bombers were able to capitalize on two huge scoring stretches that ultimately led to a victory. 

Ithaca held Utica scoreless in the first quarter of action as they jumped out to a 5-0 lead over the course of the first 15 minutes of play.  Winkler got the Pioneers on the board just 14 seconds into the second quarter when he netted his 44th goal of the year to cut UC's deficit to 5-1.  The home team was able to outscore UC 2-1 in the final 11:38 of the second quarter to take a 7-2 lead into the halftime intermission. 

Thomas got UC on the board early in the second half with his 21st goal of the season to cut Ithaca's lead to four goals, 7-3, with 11:12 to play in the third.  That's when IC went on a 5-0 run to essentially seal the victory. 

With the Bombers leading by nine, 12-3, Zachary Menapace (Baldwinsville, NY/C.W. Baker), Zach Stevenson and Thomas each scored a goal for UC to close out the scoring on the day with the Bombers ahead by seven. 

Junior Justin Edelstein (Hartsdale, NY/Harvey School) picked up two assists for Utica on the afternoon, while senior Oliver Barney (Vestal, NY/Vestal) won seven face-offs and scooped up a game-high six ground balls.  Sophomore Dan Duffy (New Hartford, NY/New Hartford) caused a team-best three turnovers for UC and senior defender Mick Krajacic (Clay, NY/Cicero North Syracuse) added five ground balls.  David Craig (Brewerton, NY/Paul V. Moore) also chipped in with an assist for the Pioneers. 

Senior goalie Joe Davis (Vestal, NY/Vestal) stopped seven shots in between the pipes for Utica. 

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