Mark Bielicky scored four goals and had two assists as Stevens defeated No. 10 Ithaca, 17-9. |
HOBOKEN, N.J. (March 2, 2007) – Despite falling behind by three goals in the opening 8:12 of the game, the Stevens Institute of Technology men’s lacrosse team responded in a big way as the 13th-ranked Ducks recorded a convincing 17-9 win over 10th-ranked Ithaca College on Friday at the De Baun Athletic Complex in Hoboken, N.J. Senior midfielder Mark Bielicky (Bridgewater, N.J.) came up huge in the game as the two-time USILA All-American recorded four goals and two assists.
The Bombers (1-1) started quickly as they took a 3-0 lead following a pair of goals from junior attack Matt Nelligan (Rowley, Mass.) and another from junior attack Logan Bobzien (Littleton, Colo.). Stevens, which will be joining Ithaca in the Empire 8 conference in 2008, answered right back as Bielicky put the Ducks on the board with 5:15 left in the opening period. Senior midfielder Matt Althauser (Bellevue, Wash.) followed with a man-up goal to cut the deficit to 3-2. Junior attack John Dolny (Mountain Lakes, N.J.) scored with six seconds left in the quarter to knot the score at 3-all.
Back-to-back goals by junior midfielder Kevin Bush (Littleton, Colo.) and Nelligan staked Ithaca to a 5-3 lead. Once again, Stevens came right back as senior defender Josh Smith (Oswego, N.Y.) found his brother Eric Smith (Oswego, N.Y.) in transition for a goal with 11:16 remaining in the first half. That goal triggered a burst by the Ducks as Stevens out-scored the Bombers 14-4 over the final 41 minutes of the contest.
Trailing 6-5, Stevens scored six unanswered goals over the final 3:31 of the first half and the opening eight minutes of the second half as the Ducks grabbed a five-goal cushion (11-6) with 6:43 left in the third quarter. Bielicky scored three goals and assisted on a tally by freshman attack Josh Holmes (North Kingstown, R.I.) during that stretch.
Ithaca scored three of the final four goals of the third period to close to within 12-9 heading into the final 15 minutes of action. Stevens dominated the fourth quarter by out-scoring Ithaca 5-0. Eric Smith scored twice to help blow the game wide open. Sophomore midfielder Matt Keating (Chatham, N.J.), junior midfielder Alex Richards (Beaverton, Ore.) and freshman midfielder Ian Burgess (Glen Gardner, N.J.) also scored in the fourth quarter.
Eric Smith finished the game with three goals and an assist. Althauser and Keating had two goals apiece. Freshman midfielder Bobby Steinhauser (Boonton Township, N.J.) won nine face-offs and collected seven ground balls for the Ducks. Richards was 5-for-10 in face-off opportunities and had four ground balls. Senior goalkeeper Jack Dunderdale (Ridgefield, Conn.) came up huge in net as he made 22 saves to pick up the victory.
The Bombers were led by Nelligan, who tallied three goals. Bush and Bobzien added two goals apiece. Junior long-stick midfielder Brandon Rose (Rochester, N.Y.) posted a team-high four ground balls. Senior midfielder Matt Hammes (Cortland, N.Y.) won six face-offs for Ithaca. Senior goalkeeper Dennis Butler (Pleasantville, N.Y.) allowed all 17 goals while making 13 saves in the contest.
For the game, Stevens out-shot the Bombers 50-47. The Ducks had 34 ground balls while Ithaca collected 24. Stevens converted on 22 of 26 clear attempts (84.6 percent). The Bombers were 16-for-23 (69.6 percent) on clears. The Ducks scored on seven of 11 extra-man opportunities while Ithaca had just two man-up goals. Stevens also scored three man-down goals on the evening.
The Ducks will be back in action on Wednesday when they take on Skyline Conference rival Manhattanville College at 3:30 p.m. in Purchase, N.Y.
