Box Score

Utica College 10, St. John Fisher 9 (2 OT) - Empire 8 Conference Men's Lacrosse Final


Utica, NY (4/27/2013) – The Utica College men's lacrosse team defeated visiting St. John Fisher College 10-9 in double overtime Saturday to secure the Pioneers first Empire 8 Conference tournament berth in the history of the program.  Senior tri-captain Ben Winkler (Rodman, NY/IHC) netted the game-winner just 44 seconds into the second overtime to lift the Pioneers to the thrilling one goal victory, much to the delight of the Pioneer faithful on a beautiful Spring afternoon at Charles A. Gaetano Stadium. 

The Pioneers, who also secured a new school-record for wins in a single season (nine), will now advance to the Empire 8 Conference Tournament semifinal game on Wednesday, when they will travel to top-seeded Nazareth College to take on the Golden Flyers at 4 p.m.

“It feels great, an opportunity for our team and our program to make it to the Empire 8 Tournament for the first time. It's a win by all of our team and all of our alumni – it's just amazing,” said eighth year Head Coach Mike Parnell. “Our guys work hard all year and I'm extremely proud.  We grinded all day and we got the win in the end when we needed it.

Senior attack Justin Edelstein (Hartsdale, NY/Harvey School) and freshman Trent Jacobs (Akwesasne/Brewster Academy) each netted a game-high three goals for the Pioneers, while junior tri-captain Joe Schoen (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) totaled a game-high five points on two assists and three goals.  Schoen is now tied for third all-time on the College's single-season assist list with 25 this year. One of those assists came on the game-winner to Winkler in the second OT. 

“We ran (the same play) earlier in the game and Ben just missed wide,” said Schoen of the play that eventually won the game for the Pioneers in OT. “(The second time) Ben was wide open and I just knew I had to put it right in his stick and he stuck it.”

It was an evenly matched contest all afternoon with the score being tied 5-5 at the half and 9-9 after regulation (the contest featured five lead changes and seven ties). Neither team could muster a goal in the first overtime, but after UC's Zack Stevenson (Elbridge, NY/Jordan-Elbridge) won the face off in the second overtime, the Pioneers struck gold on Winkler's game-winner on the left wing from about 12 yards out. 

“We have a great quarterback, great leader, in Joe Schoen (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro). It's pretty easy to do my job – all I had to do was slide out the back and Joey fed me the ball,” said Winkler of the game-winning pass by Schoen.  “It was a great play, great call and great pass – and everyone knows how it ended up.” 

Winkler now has 155 career points and is just one goal shy of tying Michael Bulger '07 for second all-time on the College's career goals scored list.

Utica goalies Andrew DiOrio (Greenlawn, NY/CW Post) and Trey Adams (Hogansburg, NY/Brewster Academy) split the game right down the middle, a risky move that proved to work out for the Pioneers.  DiOrio gave up just five first half goals and made six stops, while Adams played the entire second half and 4:44 of overtime, stopping seven shots. 

Stevenson added an assist for UC in the second quarter, while winning eight face-offs.  Utica defender Tom Byrne (Lancaster, NY/Lancaster) kept his break out season alive with a game-high six caused turnovers and five ground balls.  Freshman Korin Sunday (Hogansburg, NY/Salmon River) also added a fourth quarter assist for UC. 

“It's a milestone, but the jobs not done yet and we're looking forward to playing Naz in the Empire 8 Tournament,” said Parnell. 

Fisher's big run came in the first half after falling down 2-0 early to the Pioneers.  The Cardinals answered with four straight goals in a span of 7:20 to take a 4-2 lead ten seconds into the second quarter. 

The Pioneers answered by netting four of the game's next five goals to take a 6-5 advantage at the beginning of the third quarter. 

Fisher's Nick Rossie led the Cardinals with three goals and one assist, while Michael Boisvert added two tallies of his own.  Fisher goalie Jamie Campagna made 15 saves, while Ryan Freije controlled the face-off circle, winning 16-of-24 opportunities.  Freije also tallied a game-high 12 ground balls. 

The Pioneers have earned the No. 4 seed in the conference tournament and will now take on No. 1 Nazareth on the road Wednesday. UC traveled to Naz (12-4, 7-0 Empire 8) earlier this year and lost to the Golden Flyers 14-8 (both teams scored six goals in the second half).

“We've never been to the Empire 8's and it's nice that we are finally there. It's a team thing – so everyone get's the same feeling, it's great,” said Winkler of heading to the conference tournament.  Joe Schoen (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) also discussed what making the tournament means to him, “This is one of the best moments of my life, especially in lacrosse. Both of my brothers (Ben Schoen '04, Steve Schoen '07) played here and they never had the opportunity to go to the E8's and now we do.”

Quotes from the Post Game Press Conference

Parnell on the game-winning goal …
“It's a play we practiced the first day in the Spring – we practice it every day.  Now we had the opportunity to run it. In a tight spot you want the ball in Ben's (Winkler) stick and he took care of it.  Joe (Schoen) had a nice feed and it worked perfect.“

Winkler on making to the Empire 8 Tournament …
“It's a good way to end the regular season.  Getting the win and going to the E8's.”

Edelstein speaks of the experience of winning a double overtime thrill on senior day …
“This was just awesome. It was great to see all the people up in the stands, my family was there, walking through the tunnel with my sister and my mom – it was awesome.”

Edelstein on how the Pioneers prepared for today's game …
“We've been doing the same thing all year – today we stayed focused and we knew what we had to do.”

Edelstein discussing making the Empire 8 Tournament …
“It's unbelievable. This is something I've always wanted to do.  This is what we talk about when we're together."