ONEONTA, NY – The Utica College men's lacrosse team opened up Empire 8 Conference play Saturday with a 9-4 win against Hartwick College at Wright Stadium.  The Pioneers were led by Zach Stevenson who tallied six goals to remain the team's leader in points (11) and goals (nine).

UC improves to 4-2 overall while opening up league play with a 1-0 mark.  Utica returns to its home turf Wednesday to face non-conference rival Oswego State.  Face off is scheduled for 4 p.m. at Charles A. Gaetano Stadium.

Hartwick remains winless at 0-3 on the season including a 0-1 mark in conference play.  The Hawks hit the road this week on Tuesday as they travel to Pennsylvania to face King's College in non-conference action for a 4 p.m. set start.  

The Hawks got on the board first, just under two minutes into the contest, as Cody Petrillo found the back of the net, at 13:03.  The Pioneers would answer with four straight scores, over a 14 minute span, as they worked a 4-1 lead quick into the start of the second period.

The home team would convert one score at the 10 minute mark of the second quarter cutting the deficit to two, 4-2.  However, UC answered with another Stevenson goal, at 3:13, as he sealed his hat trick before halftime.  

The Pioneers opened up the second half with two goals in a span of 10 minutes as UC moved to a comfortable 7-2 advantage.  The squads went on to score two more goals apiece as Utica garnered its fourth win of the season as well as an early victory conference in the E8.