Ithaca boys lacrosse soaring through Section IV

At the halfway point of the regular season, the Ithaca High School boys lacrosse team is the cream of the crop in Section IV.

The Little Red have won their first eight games of the campaign. As of April 23, they are the only undefeated team in the section. Head coach Clayton Fickenscher shared how they’ve been able to get off to a perfect start.

“I think it’s just attention to the details and the small things,” Fickenscher said. “[We’re] focusing on an individual rep here or there and giving as much effort as we can, and then rolling those into team reps and team play in the full game. [We’re] just focusing on one thing at a time or a small detail and then just compounding on that and just keeping that ball rolling.”

This season opened with some late drama against Maine-Endwell, prevailing 11-10 in overtime thanks to Greg Gorsky’s game-winning strike. They followed that up with another one-goal win against Horseheads. The next few matches were won more comfortably in the leadup to their biggest test of the season against Corning. The Little Red fell to the Hawks in last season’s Section IV Class A final, but they exacted their revenge with a 14-6 victory.

“I just wanted to hit on the effort from the get-go,” Fickenscher said. “The boys came ready to play, and it was apparent to everybody there. A high level of team play also helped us. The ball movement, off-ball movement, trust in our teammates, trust in our schemes, and the support of each other were on display. [Goalkeeper] Alex Biskup and the defense stood tall, and Hewitt Gao maintained possession for us through the faceoffs.”

The defense has impressed all throughout the season. With Biskup in the cage and any combination of Gorsky, Lincoln Babcock, Nick Oplinger, Louis Enns, Lei Cao, River Toffolo and Ryder Bonn at the back, the Little Red are allowing just seven goals per game, making them one of the top units in the section.

Shifting to the midfield, Zach Cartmill is the star of the show. Not only is he the main creator of scoring opportunities for Ithaca High, he has often found the back of the net himself. While witnessing Cartmill’s ability to score and assist at highly-efficient levels, it’s no surprise that he’ll be continuing his lacrosse career at Le Moyne University, joining one of the best teams in all of Division II.

“Zach has done a great job of balancing the roles of initiator and finisher,” Fickenscher said. “When he needs to initiate, he’s doing a really good job of scanning and seeing where the slide is, where they’re coming from, whether he needs to move that ball, or just take a shot. He’s recognizing where we have enough other pieces to support the team where he’s able to just be involved in team offense and others can initiate. Off that initiation he’ll be able to fill the finishing role and just feed off the team play.”

In attack, the Little Red are spearheaded by Luke VanDeMark and Owen Simons. With Simons mainly operating behind the net and VanDeMark always finding ways to get in prime scoring range, the senior duo leads a potent offense that is averaging nearly 12 goals per game.

“Luke and Owen are two of our smartest guys out there,” Fickenscher said. “I think they click with each other because they played with each other last year in the same roles towards the end, so they definitely have that comfort there. They see the field and understand the chess pieces on the board and how they all interact and move and play off each other. We don’t have to rely solely on them or solely on Zach, so that when initiation is coming from somewhere other than Luke and Owen, that just allows them more space to create and produce. They come ready to outwork you on every single rep.”

While the Little Red have moved down to Class B this season, the goal remains the same: win a Section IV title, something they haven’t done since 2018 under legendary head coach Frank Welch. This season’s team certainly has the best chance to end that drought, and Fickenscher knows exactly what it will take to achieve postseason glory.

“I think [it’s] just continuing to build and shape and mold and develop our team lacrosse play even further,” Fickenscher said. “Moving the ball, trust in our teammates, and just an undying effort to go harder than that person lined up across on every single rep. And then [it’s] just focusing on the little things like the first rep of the game, the first ground ball, focusing on that versus thinking [about the] fourth quarter and winning the game. Just focus on the little things first, and then everything else will fall into place.”

The team will be hosting their annual “Rock the Wall” fundraiser event May 13 at Ithaca High School. This will be an all-day lacrosse event with all K-12 Ithaca Boys teams playing games throughout the day.