Box Score
Utica 21, SUNYIT 2 - Men's Lacrosse Final

Utica, NY (2/27/2013) – The Utica College men's lacrosse team earned its third consecutive season opening win on Wednesday night as the Pioneers toppled host SUNYIT 21-2 in non-conference action at the newly constructed Wildcat Field.  The Pioneers improved to 1-0 on the year and they are now 6-0 all-time against their cross-town foe, SUNYIT.

UC junior Joe Schoen (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) led the way with a career-high seven points.  Schoen, who now has 15 career multi-point efforts, totaled a career-high five assists, which is also tied for fourth on the College's single game assist list. 

The Pioneers outshot the home team 65-13 on the day and six different players netted at least two goals.  Zack Stevenson (Elbridge, NY/Jordan-Elbridge) registered a career-high three goals, while Ben Winkler (Rodman, NY/IHC), who tallied 67 points last season, added three goals of his own.  David Craig (Brewerton, NY/Paul V. Moore) chipped in with two goals and two assists while adding four ground balls. 

Transfer Andrew Jamieson (Six Nations, ON/Hagersville) registered four points (one goal, three assists) in his Pioneer debut and TJ Benson (Central Square, NY/Paul V. Moore) also added three points on one goal and two assists.  Junior Scott Baron (Flemington, NJ/Cushing Academy) muscled home two goals, while senior Justin Edelstein (Hartsdale, NY/Harvey School) and sophomore midfielder Josh Sommers (Singerlands, NY/Guilderland) each logged one goal and one assist, respectively.  Sommers added eight face-off victories. Freshman Trent Jacobs (Akwesasne/Brewster Academy) got his collegiate career off on the right foot with two goals, while Fred Del Genio (New Hartford, NY/New Hartford), Steve Dowd (Cohoes, NY/Shaker), and Jeff Pierce (Clinton, NY/Clinton) all tallied their first goal of the season for Utica. 

Sophomore Matt Werkmeister (Chaska, MN/Chaska) led the UC defense with five ground balls and three caused turnovers.  Trey Adams (Hogansburg, NY/Brewster Academy), Andrew DiOrio (Greenlawn, NY/CW Post) and Cory Spisak (Lisle, NY/Tompkins Cortland CC) each split time in net for the Pioneers, combining for three saves. 

Utica led 10-2 at halftime and shut the Wildcats out, 11-0, in the final 30 minutes of play.  The Pioneers won 17-of-25 face-offs and they went 4-for-7 on extra-man opportunities.  UC caused 21 turnovers and scooped up 50 ground balls compared to the home teams 29 ground ball effort.  The last time the Pioneers scored 20 or more goals was against Elmira last season (20-16 victory). 

Utica has outscored SUNYIT by 108 goals (124-16) in six meetings all-time. Kevin Gardrvits and Chris Pace each scored for the 0-2 Wildcats. Jeffrey Melnik stopped 12 shots in net for SUNYIT.

UC returns to the field on Saturday when it travels to Cazenovia College for a non-conference bout at 1 p.m.  The Pioneers defeated Cazenovia 18-11 at Charles A. Gaetano Stadium last season.