Ithaca, NY – Only three days after meeting its playoff opponent for the first time in 18 years, the Clarkson University Men's Lacrosse team could not change the results against 15th-ranked Ithaca College, as the Golden Knights dropped a 12-7 decision to the Bombers in the first round of the Liberty League Tournament on Saturday afternoon.

The Golden Knights, who fell to Ithaca 14-7 on Wednesday, saw their season come to a close with a record of 6-9. The Bombers (14-2) advance to the Liberty League Semifinals against Rensselaer.

Up by a score of 2-1 after a little over two minutes thanks to goals from Conor Bartlett and Shane Kilday, the Golden Knights saw the advantage evaporate with four goals by the Bombers in the final 8:15 of the first quarter. The two teams traded goals in the second and Clarkson was still within three after Brett Brillhart scored a man-up goal at the 3:42 mark of the third quarter, but Ithaca got two big goals to close out the third period when Connor Crosson scored at 2:15 and Jake Cotton tallied in the final second of the frame.

Down by five in the fourth, Clarkson played even with the Bombers, but the Green and Gold failed to trim the margin below four goals and finished trailing by the same deficit as they started at the beginning of the quarter.

Clarkson dominated on faceoffs, winning 19 of 23 tries, but the team committed 28 turnovers compared to just 13 by the Bombers and converted just 14 of 25 clear attempts. Ithaca took advantage by outshooting Clarkson 42-29, including a 23-14 edge in shots on goal.

Conor Bartlett led the team on offense with four points, scoring twice and finding his teammates for two assists. Shane Kilday also scored twice and Sam Groves produced a goal and an assist. Mark Uhlig led the team with four groundballs and Ryan Gabriel won 18 faceoffs in 22 attempts. Kevin Dyckman stopped 11 shots in the Clarkson crease.

For Ithaca, Connor Brumfield scored five goals and Connor Crosson added four points on two goals and two assists. Keith Morrissey also contributed three points, five groundballs and four caused turnovers. Aaron McCartney led the team with eight groundballs and also chipped in three caused turnovers. Robby Atwood made seven stops on 14 shots.