Courtesy Williams Sports Information

ITHACA, N.Y. – Ithaca (16-2) overcame an early six-goal deficit to defeat Williams (10-6) 17-10 Saturday in the second round of the NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Tournament.

The Ephs, despite making the program’s first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance, showed no early jitters, jumping out to an early lead. Freshman attack David Hawley (New Canann, Conn.) got the Ephs on the board five minutes into the game off a feed from senior attack Michael Vrla (Paradise Valley, Ariz.). Two first-quarter goals by sophomore attack Richard Reuter (Ridgewood, N.J.) helped Williams hold a 5-2 lead after one quarter.

Williams continued to dominate early in the second quarter. Vrla scored three times in the first seven minutes of the period to give Williams an 8-2 lead.

The Bombers began to get untracked late in the second period, as a pair of goals by senior attack Logan Bobzien (Centennial, Colo.) – both off assists from sophomore midfielder Nic Heckman (Sparta, N.Y.) – cut the Ephs’ lead to 8-4. A late goal by senior attack Matt Nelligan (Rowley, Mass.) made the score 8-5 at halftime.

The second half was all Ithaca, as the Bombers took control of the game with a third quarter that saw Ithaca outscore Williams 8-1. Seven different Bombers scored goals in the quarter. Junior attack Tim Pfeffer (Penfield, N.Y.) gave Ithaca the lead for good with a goal with 4:29 remaining in the third quarter. Ithaca would score the next seven goals to put the game away.

Bobzien led the Ithaca attack, scoring three goals and adding a career-high six assists for a career-high nine points. Bobzien has now tied the school record for assists in a season (46) and now has the program’s second-highest single-season point total (80). Nelligan tallied three goals in the game, and his 49 goals are the fourth-highest in a season in program history. Pfeffer recorded a career-high three goals and tied a career-high of four points. Heckman scored a goal and added a career-high four assists to tie his career-high five points.

With the win today, the Bombers tied the school record with wins. The record was set last year when the Bombers finished with a 16-4 overall record.

Freshman goalie David Gal (Amherst, Mass.) picked up his sixth win of the season, making nine saves. He remains undefeated in his career. Junior Michael Gerbush (Glen Head, N.Y.) made 10 saves for Williams.

The Bombers will face Western New England in the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Tournament on Wednesday, May 14. The site and time are to be determined.