Ninteenth-ranked Ithaca scored three unanswered goals to start off both the first and second halves to defeat 17th-ranked St. Lawrence, 8-5, in a Liberty League men's lacrosse game on Wednesday afternoon at Hall-Leet Stadium.

The Saints were led by Conor Caffrey who scored one goal and assisted on another, while Sam Boehle, Brian Cunningham, Cal Hynson and Brett Williams each added one goal apiece. Boehle grabbed a team-best five ground balls, while Sam Sweeney picked up four ground balls and caused two turnovers. Liam Doherty won 10-of-17 faceoffs for the Saints, who held a 39-25 advantage in shots but were stymied by Ithaca goaltender Robby Atwood, who made 14 saves.

Stephen Morrill netted the Bombers' first goal just 32 seconds into play for his 10th goal of the season. Conner Crosson and Will Witter scored for the next two goals for Ithaca to give the Bombers a 3-0 lead heading into the second quarter.

Boehle recorded an unassisted tally with the long pole for his third goal of the season to kick off scoring for the Saints. Less than two minutes later, Nick Brindisi fed Caffrey around the side of the crease to bring the game within one.

Ryan Ozsvath scored the first and last goal of a 3-0 run for Ithaca to give the Bombers a 6-2 lead less than five minutes into the second half.

Hynson's man-down goal for the Saints came off a pass from Jordan Dow with just over six minutes to play in the third frame. Brett Williams scored his second collegiate goal for the Saints to close the gap to just two goals, but Jake Cotton added one more for Ithaca for the win.

"I thought Ithaca played an excellent game," said head coach Mike Mahoney '93. "We know the conference is going to be a bear this season and we will need to keep working hard to find ways to get the results we are looking for."

Ozsvath recorded a hat trick for the Bombers, while Crosson scored two goals and added an assist and Will Witter scored one goal and assisted on two others. Kaelan Fitzpatrick grabbed a team-high five ground balls, while Keith Morrissey and Sean Seaberg each caused three turnovers.

Alex Terry recorded nine saves in goal for the Saints, who outshot the Bombers 15-3 in the fourth quarter.

With the loss, the Saints fell to 5-2 on the season and 2-1 in Liberty League play, while Ithaca improved to 7-1 and 2-1.

St. Lawrence will host Nazareth in a non-league game on Saturday, March 31 at 1 p.m.