LEWISTON, MAINE – Despite a late quarter push, the No. 18 ranked Ithaca College men's lacrosse team bowed out of the NCAA Division III Championship tournament on Friday, falling 14-11 to Hope College in a second round matchup.
Hope College struck first, capitalizing on an early Ithaca turnover just two minutes into the game to take a quick 1-0 lead. The Flying Dutchmen made it a two-goal adbantage before the Bombers responded late in the first quarter. Will Kleine put the Bombers on the board with just under three minutes remaining in the first quarter. Moments later, teammate Danny Loss found the back of the net to even the score at 2-2. The game remained was knotted at 2-2 heading into the second quarter.
Hope regained the lead early in the second, going up 3-2 at the 14:21 mark and extending its lead to 4-2 with 12:14 remaining. After Hope took the 5-2 lead, the Bombers began to rally. Brendan Occhino, assisted by Sam Baker, cut the deficit to two with 10:06 left, and Cullen Adams followed with a goal to make it 5-4 at the 8:48 mark. Ethan Adrid tied the game at 5-5 just under a minute later.
Danny Loss then gave Ithaca its first lead of the game, 6-5, before Adams struck again to push the advantage to 7-5. Hope responded in the closing minutes of the half, halting the Bombers' momentum with a goal at the five-minute mark. The Flying Dutchmen added two more goals, including a transition score, to take an 8-7 lead into halftime.
Tim Rogers opened the second half by scoring for Ithaca, tying the game at 8-8. Hope then took control in the third quarter, going on a four-goal run to build a 12-8 advantage heading into the final period.
Hope scored the first goal of the fourth quarter to extend its lead to five before Will Kleine answered quickly for the Bombers to make it a 13-9 game. The Flying Dutchmen score one more with 10:04 remaining, pushing their lead to five once again. Ithaca tallied two more with Kleine scoring with 7:30 left, and Adrid added another to bring the Bombers within three but it wasn't enough as Hope's defense held strong for the 14-11 victory.
Kleine finished with three points, netting a team-high three goals and goalkeeper Andrew Minard recorded 12 saves.
The Bombers conclude the 2026 season with an 11-7 record, the most wins since 2018, and they claimed their first regular season Liberty League title in program history.