ITHACA, N.Y. – The Ithaca College men's lacrosse team suffered its first defeat of the season after falling to No. 9 St. John Fisher, 20-12, in its home opener at Higgins Stadium on Saturday afternoon. The Bombers had a solid outing in the final three periods yet could not rally from a 10-1 deficit in the first period. Inside the Box Score St. John Fisher held a groundball advantage over the Bombers 41-to-33, yet IC still finished the day with more shots on goal by notching 32 compared to the Cardinals' 30. Ian Evans and Nicholas Miller led the St. John Fisher offense by combining for nine goals and three assists. Goalkeeper Ben Hammond was ultra-efficient in the net, accumulating 19 saves in addition to a .731 save percentage on the afternoon. Junior Jake Erickson anchored the Bomber attack offensively, scoring three goals to go along with three assists through regulation. Senior Blake Eischen posted an impressive fourth period, dialing up three goals to give him four on the season thus far. How it Happened It took the Cardinals just 45 seconds to break the ice as Tucker O'Donnell sent a laser past IC goalkeeper Connor Thornton to put his team up 1-0 early. The bleeding continued for the Ithaca defensive front, as St. John Fisher tallied four ensuing goals over the next six minutes to take a 5-0 advantage. The Bombers finally got on the scoreboard in the 11th minute of the opening period when Erickson fed Connor Brumfield for a goal to make it 5-1. St. John Fisher responded quickly, however, going on an offensive spree and racking up five more goals to close out the first period and comfortably go up 10-1. Ithaca appeared to own the heart of the second period, outnumbering the Cardinals 7-to-6 in shots on goal and executing well on the defensive end. Erickson notched his third score of the year four minutes into the period, as Jae Stuhlman was credited with the assist. Trailing 13-2 in the third, IC engineered a 3-0 run behind two Erickson goals and a nifty Brumfield score to narrow the margin and make it 13-5. Although, St. John Fisher quickly rallied, as Evans and company made it a 18-5 contest to close out the period thanks to five consecutive goals, three of which were administered by the Cardinal midfielder. Despite the home loss, Ithaca won the final period by outscoring St. John Fisher 7-2 behind three Eischen goals. Ithaca College will go to the drawing board and look to rebound from the loss when the squad travels to Lycoming College on Wednesday, March 2. The game is slated to begin at 4 p.m.