HOUGHTON, NY- The Utica College men's soccer team lost to host Houghton College 4-1 in Empire 8 Conference action in the season-finale for the Pioneers on Saturday.  UC and Houghton were knotted at 1-1 headed into the half, but the Highlanders exploded for three second half goals to earn the three goal victory.

UC's lone goal came from the foot of the program's all-time leading scorer, Shane Ruffing (Rochester, NY/Westborough), at the 39:05 marker of the first half.  He rifled a shot from 27 yards out into the lower half of the goal. Ruffing will leave UC with 78 career points after scoring 34 career goals to go along with ten assists.  He capped his senior season with 11 goals and four assists. 

Houghton's first goal of the game came 8:47 into the contest from Andrew Bussey.  Mitch Beattie, Ben Lawrence and Ben Moritz each added second half goals to push the home squad to the convincing E8 victory.

Utica caps its 2015 campaign with a 5-13 overall record and a 1-6 ledger in the Empire 8.  Houghton improved to 9-6-2 overall and 4-2-1 in the conference.

UC's Matthew Milograno (Marcy, NY/Whitesboro) stopped four shots in the loss.