UTICA, NY- The Utica College men's lacrosse team will close out its 2015 campaign Saturday afternoon at home against Houghton College. Game time against the Highlanders is scheduled for 1 p.m.

A WINNING TRADITION: The Pioneers head into Saturday's senior day contest against Houghton looking to win their eighth game of the season … A win on Saturday would help the Pioneers earn atleast eight wins in a single season for the fifth time in seven years … A win on Saturday would also move the Pioneers' record to .500, and it would mark the fourth straight year the Pioneers have finished the season with a record of .500 or better.

SENIOR DAY: The Pioneers will bid farewell to their graduating senior class prior to Saturday's contest … This group of seniors has guided the program to new heights, posting 32 victories over the course of the last four years … During their sophomore campaign back in 2013, this group helped set a new school-record for wins in a single season (nine) and they also helped the Pioneers advance to the Empire 8 Conference Tournament for the first time in program-history.

LAST TIME OUT: The Pioneers are coming off a 15-8 loss at the hands of St. John Fisher College on Wednesday … The team's offense was led by junior Alex Finnegan (Bay Shore, NY/Islip) who tied his career-high with four goals, and sophomore Matt Miller who had three goals and two assists on the night… Patrick Mulligan (Commack, NY/Commack) rounded out the scoring with one goal and one assist, while Liam Wheatley (Rochester, NY/Webster Schroeder) and Ryan Desveaux (Bowmanville, ONT/St. Stephen Catholic) each added an assist… The Pioneers are currently 7-8 overall and 2-5 in the conference.

SOLID IN NET: Senior goalie Andrew DiOrio (Greenlawn, NY/CW Post) is first in the conference in save percentage (.567), fourth in the conference in saves per game (10.73) and goals against average (8.20)... He has started each game for the Pioneers and has collected 146 saves so far this season, moving his all-time career saves to 360.

MILLER LEADS OFFENSE: Sophomore Matthew Miller (Geneva, NY/Geneva) leads the team in points with 28 and is second on the team with 19 goals… Miller has recorded at least one point in 11 of the team's 15 games so far this season… He also has six goals in his last two outings.

BYRNE'S CONSISTENT DEFENSE: Over the course of the season Tom Byrne (Lancaster, NY/Lancaster) has collected 81 ground balls and he has caused a career-high 44 turnovers… He currently ranks third in the Empire 8 with an average of 5.4 ground balls per game … Byrne has played in 58 games in his four-year career at Utica and has scooped up 257 groundballs, which ranks third all-time and he has also caused 130 turnovers.

PREVIOUS MEETINGS: The Pioneers and the Highlanders have only had two other meetings… In both games the Pioneers were victorious… Utica has outscored Houghton 42-3 in the last two years.

SCOUTING HOUGHTON: The Highlanders of Houghton College are 1-12 overall and 0-7 in the conference… The team's offense is led by Paul Chapman who has 47 points, including 41 goals and six assists so far this season… Just behind Chapman is Justin Flint… Flint has 28 total points this season including 20 goals and eight assists… Chapman and Flint combine for 86 of the Highlanders 298 ground balls this season… Goalies Jordan Warren and Josh Haingray have each played in 11 games for Houghton… The pair have combined for a total of 708:22 minutes in net this season and have compiled a total of 193 of the team's 198 saves.