The Utica College men's soccer team (3-3) out shot SUNYIT (5-2) 15-4 en route to a 3-0 non conference victory on the turf at Charles A. Gaetano Stadium Sunday afternoon.  The Pioneers, winners of two in a row, have outscored their opponents 4-0 over the course of the last two games and junior goalie Kevin Murphy (West Islip, NY) has registered two straight shut outs.  DJ Ilebani (Abuja, Nigeria) netted his team-high third goal of the season to open the scoring on the day, while Jeff Kassouf (New Paltz, NY) and Jon Wood (Derry, NH) each added insurance goals for the Pioneers. 

Utica is now 6-2 over the course of their last eight meetings against SUNYIT, outscoring the Wildcats by a combined tally of 18-5 in those eight games.  SUNYIT has now lost two straight after opening the season with a 5-0 record.

Ilebani's goal, which gave UC a 1-0 lead just over seven minutes into the contest, was headed into the top right corner after a beautifully placed corner kick from Wood. 

Kassouf's goal, the first of his career, gave UC a 2-0 lead in the 28th minute.  Freshman Jeff Konieczny (Hadley, MA) threaded the needle through the goalie box to find Kassouf crashing the net on the far post.  Kassouf one-timed the pass past SUNYIT goalie Kurt Makowski (Grand Island, NY) to give the Pioneers a comfortable lead. 

Wood, who scored the game-winner in double overtime on Friday night against Union, completed a five point weekend with his second goal of the season at 54:09.  The goal came off a free kick started by junior midfielder David Garcia (Fairport, NY).

Murphy finished the day with three saves for UC, while Makowski and Justin Shade (East Amherst, NY) teamed up to make five saves in net for the Wildcats.   

The Pioneers return to action Friday when they open up conference play against Nazareth College.  The contest is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. Live video and stats will be available at www.ucpioneers.com.  SUNYIT returns home Wednesday to take on Morrisville at 4 p.m.


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