Utica, NY (4-24-12) – The Utica College men's lacrosse team travels to nearby Clinton, NY on Wednesday to take on cross-town rival Hamilton College for the second-annual Contineer Cup.

Game Time: The game will be held at Steuben Field on campus at Hamilton College, with the opening face off scheduled for 4 p.m.

Last Time Out: UC topped conference foe Elmira College last Saturday by a score of 20-16. In this offensive slugfest, junior Ben Winkler (Rodman, NY/IHC) broke the eight-year-old school record for goals scored in a single season when he tallied his 50th goal of the year. Along with Winkler setting the scoring record, the Pioneers tied the school record for wins, with their eighth victory of the season. 

Winkler Continues To Roll: The junior phenom netted a team-high seven goals against Elmira, as he raised his season total to 52. Winkler also has 12 assists on the year, giving him 64 points, just one shy of tying the school record of 65 set by Matt Donaldson back in 2005. With nine goals in two games last week, Winkler earned Empire 8 Player of the Week for the third time this season.

Defense Digs Deep: Senior All-Conference defender Mick Krajacic (Clay, NY/Cicero North Syracuse) had one of his best games on the season against Elmira. Krajacic seemed to have the Soaring Eagle attackers in check the whole game as he caused nine turnovers, scooped up six ground balls and even tallied one assist on the day. Senior classmate Dennis Timmons (Central Square, NY/Paul V. Moore) also stepped up for UC as he picked up five ground balls to go along with his three caused turnovers.

Balanced Attack: The UC offense is led by Winkler and classmate Trent Thomas (Akwesasne, ONT/Massena) with 64 and 44 points, respectively. Beyond these two however, is a very balanced stat book. There are seven other Pioneers with 10 or more points on the season, and ten different players registered at least one point against Elmira.  

Scouting Hamilton: The Continentals (8-5, 5-5 NESCAC) are currently on a two-game winning streak after defeating conference foe Trinity College by a score of 9-7 on April 21.  Hamilton is led by senior Jonathon Leanos who has 25 goals and 17 helpers on the season. UC is winless against Hamilton dating back to 2006, but four of those six losses have been by two or fewer goals.

Next Time Out: UC will wrap up their 2012 campaign on Saturday, April 28 as they travel up I-90 to Rochester, NY to take on conference rival St. John Fisher. Faceoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.


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