The 18th-ranked Ithaca College men's lacrosse team returned to the field turf at Higgins Stadium following an eight-day hiatus from a competition when it faced Skidmore in a Liberty League opener that was rescheduled from a proposed neutral-site contest this past Thursday. The long layoff did not seem to have any ill effects to IC's offense, as the Bombers amassed a season-high for goals in an 18-12 triumph over the Thoroughbreds. The victory improves Ithaca's record to 3-1 on the year and 1-0 in Liberty League competition. Skidmore did not make things easy for Ithaca in a league opener that was a tad bit tougher than what might have been expected. The Thoroughbreds entered the weekend stumbling out of the gates to a 1-3 mark, as injuries and illness have taken their toll. However, the visitors certainly looked rejuvenated on Sunday and gave Ithaca all it could handle for a long stretch of the action. In the end, it was a dominant third quarter that provided some breathing room for the Bombers. IC outscored Skidmore 5-1 in the frame, extending a 10-8 halftime margin into a 15-9 advantage heading to the fourth quarter. The visitors would not threaten from there, as IC would maintain the significant edge with a responsible effort in the fourth, matching three Thoroughbred scores with three of its own to get off on the right foot to the Liberty League slate. The win is an important one for the Bombers to begin a key homestand. After a non-league tilt against SUNY Oneonta on Wednesday, Ithaca has big Liberty League matchups against No. 17 RPI and St. Lawrence over the next 10 days. The next stretch will certainly have a big impact on the postseason chase. The Bombers had eight different players get in on the goal-scoring act in the season-high output. Five of those were multi-goal efforts. Junior attacker Dan Lee paced the group with a career-high six goals in a comprehensive day by one of IC's breakout players this season. Sophomore attacker Connor Brumfield and sophomore midfielder Connor Till both had five-point days. The former posted a hat trick and two assists, while the latter flipped the stat line with two goals and three helpers. Sophomore Dillon Fitzpatrick and junior Kevin Enos both registered two-goal efforts on the day to round out Ithaca's multi-goal performances. Senior Conner Crosson delivered his best effort of the season with four points on one goal and three assists, while sophomore Kyle Johnson and first-year Drew Turner chipped in two-point efforts on a goal and assist each. Defensively, first-year Jae Stuhlman led the charge with three caused turnovers on the afternoon. Sophomore Jake Hall-Goldman added one caused turnover and one ground-ball, while junior Aaron McCartney chipped in four grounders as well. Fitzpatrick, Till, Lee and Brumfield each registered a caused turnover as well. First-year goalie Connor Thornton improved to 3-1 as a starter. He got off to a strong start to the day with four saves in the opening period, but struggled into the half as Skidmore continued to hang around with a big second quarter. The rookie remained calm and composed in the second half, delivering several key saves that allowed Ithaca to extend the advantage to a comfortable margin. He finished the day with 10 saves. Perhaps most encouraging for Ithaca was the performance of its two newcomers at the faceoff dot. After a tough outing against nationally-ranked Cabrini last weekend, the duo of Cam MacNicol and especially Matt Pagliaro enjoyed a strong day on the draw. MacNicol posted five faceoff wins, while Pagliaro helped IC emerge with possession in 18-of-21 faceoffs on the day. Overall, Ithaca held a commanding 23-to-11 edge in the statistic. The first quarter was a high-scoring back-and-forth battle. Both sides traded periods of attacking zone success with Ithaca emerging from the exciting frame with a 6-5 lead. Crosson's passing created a few of the IC scores, as he racked up three assists in the frame, while Lee already had a hat trick after 15 minutes with three goals. Brumfield also had a hot start with two goals, while Enos added one score in the frame. Although Skidmore took a 7-6 lead with two goals during the opening moments of the second, IC controlled the scoreboard for much of the remainder of the time going into the half. Brumfield set up Lee for an equalizer with a little more than six-minutes remaining. The sophomore then registered his own goal on excellent display of perseverance and ability, scoring a man-up tally as he was being checked into the goal crease. He was able to contort his body to remain outside the circle, slotting home an off-balanced shot to put IC back up a goal at 8-7. Two goals 49-seconds apart sent Ithaca into the half on a high note. Fitzpatrick put Ithaca up 9-8 with 1:56 left in the half, wiring home a laser from the right wing. Enos followed with his second of the day, weaving through traffic and slotting home a shot inside the right post. Although the visitors got the scoring started on a goal from Alex Miller 1:25 into the third quarter, the rest of the period belonged to the Bombers. Lee answered Miller's man-up goal with his fifth of the day, besting the Skidmore keeper from the left wing. Turner capitalized on a man-up chance for the Bombers a little shy of 10-minutes later, teaming up on a deft passing play with Till. Johnson registered a goal 38-seconds after Turner, scoring on a spin move in the slot. Till followed with a goal of his own 31-seconds later, while Crosson finally broke the ice with his first goal of the 2019 campaign with 21-seconds left in the quarter. Goals by Fitzpatrick and Till in the early moments of the final frame helped Ithaca extend the lead as wide as 17-10. It was more than enough for IC's defense to uphold. Lee iced the game with his sixth and final goal of the day to cap the Ithaca scoring with 2:52 remaining. Ithaca will be back in action on Wednesday, March 20, when it continues the homestand with a date against SUNY Oneonta at 7:00 p.m. The contest will be the second game of a lacrosse doubleheader at Higgins Stadium that day, as the IC women square off against Brockport in the opening game of the day at 4:00 p.m.