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Utica, NY (4/17/12)- The Utica College men's lacrosse team heads to Ithaca, NY Wednesday for a conference match up against the No. 24 Ithaca College Bombers.

Game Time: The opening faceoff is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. at Higgins Stadium.

Last Time Out: The Pioneers are coming off a 23-7 loss to nationally ranked No. 12 Stevens Institute of Technology… Junior Trent Thomas (Akwesasne, ONT/Massena) led the way for UC with two goals and one assist, while senior Oliver Barney (Vestal, NY/Vestal) netted two goals of his own.

Where We Sit: UC is currently 7-5 overall and 2-2 in the Empire 8… The Pioneers are ranked fifth in the Empire 8 Standings… Ithaca sits atop the conference with an 8-4 overall record and a perfect 3-0 mark in conference play… St. John Fisher (8-3 overall, 3-1 Empire 8) and Nazareth (6-6 overall, 3-1 Empire 8) are tied for second, while Stevens (10-2 overall, 2-1 Empire 8) grabs the fourth spot… Hartwick (6-6 overall, 1-3 Empire 8), Alfred (4-9 overall, 1-4 Empire 8), and Elmira (3-5 overall, 0-3 Empire 8) round out the field.

Winkler Leading the Way: Junior Ben Winkler (Rodman, NY/IHC) leads the team with 43 goals and 54 points… His 3.82 goals per game ranks first in the conference… He also ranks fifth in the conference in points per game (4.64).

Helping Out: Junior Trent Thomas (Akwesasne, ONT/Massena) and sophomore Joe Schoen (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) rank first and second in assists on the team, respectively… Thomas has 19 assists and 39 points, while Schoen has 16 helpers and 11 goals of his own… Schoen's 1.78 assists per game rank fourth in the Empire 8, while Thomas ranks sixth, averaging 1.64 assists per game.

Defense Stepping Up: Utica leads the E8 with 166 caused turnovers and 402 ground balls… Senior defenseman Mick Krajacic (Clay, NY/Cicero North Syracuse) leads the team with 57 ground balls and 46 caused turnovers…  His 5.18 ground balls per game rank third in the conference… Classmate Dennis Timmons (Central Square, NY/Paul V. Moore) and sophomore Dan Duffy (New Hartford, NY/New Hartford) have also helped the Utica defense… Timmons has caused 15 turnovers, while Duffy has collected 32 ground balls and caused 15 turnovers of his own.

Between the Pipes: Seniors Joe Davis (Vestal, NY/Vestal) and Wilson Mukrdechian (Watertown, NY/Watertown) have split time in net this season… Davis has compiled a .522 save percentage and ranks third in the conference in saves per game (10.14)… Mukrdechian has totaled 58 saves and has a record of 3-1.

Scouting Ithaca: The Bombers are currently 8-4 overall and rank first in the conference with a 3-0 record… They are coming off a 12-11 win over St. John Fisher on Saturday… Senior Tom Mongelli and sophomore Pat Slawta lead the Bombers… Mongelli has netted 27 goals and added one assists, while Slawta has 20 goals and nine assists…  UC is 1-5 against Ithaca dating back to 2006… Last year the Bombers defeated Utica 20-2… Justin Edelstein (Hartsdale, NY/Harvey School) and William Greeley (Newton, MA/Newton North High) each netted goals for UC.

Looking Ahead: Following Wednesday, the Pioneers will return home for the last home game of the regular season on Saturday as they face off against Elmira College… Game time is scheduled for 1 p.m.


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