UTICA, NY- The Utica College men's lacrosse team erased a 4-1 deficit in the first half to come away with a 14-11 victory over visiting SUNY Potsdam in non-conference action Monday afternoon at Charles A. Gaetano stadium.
 
The Pioneers were also down 7-3 with 5:21 left in the first half, but rebounded to score seven straight over the next 14:29 to take a 10-7 lead in the latter part of the third quarter.  The Bears tied it at 10-10 with 2:28 remaining in the third and again at 11-11 less than a minute into the fourth quarter, but UC pulled away thanks to a pair of Jake Bratek (Syracuse, NY/Jamesville-Dewitt) goals at 12:29 and 7:33.  Nick Yelich (Lancaster, NY/Depew) sealed the deal with 1:47 remaining with his second of the day.
 
Bratek finished the day with three goals, as did junior Ryan Desveaux (Bowmanville, ONT/St. Stephen Catholic).  For the second game in a row, sophomore Dominic Castiglia (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool) netted a team-high four goals.  Castiglia and Desveaux each added one assist as well. 
 
Senior Liam Wheatley (Rochester, NY/Webster Schroeder) finished with four points on one goal and a team-high three assists, while Brickman House (Oneida, WI/Pulaski) also found the back of the net once.  John Hanlon (Coconut Creek, FL/St. John Paul Academy) and Nicholas Horne (Niskayuna, NY/Niskayuna) each dished out one assist.
 
On defense, senior Rusty Dessert (Islip, NY/Islip) caused a game-high five turnovers and led the Pioneers with five ground balls, while classmate Tyler Nicolaus (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy) and junior Andrew Davi (New Hartford, NY/New Hartford) each had three caused turnovers.
 
Senior Parker Smith (Dexter, NY/General Brown) finished with 12 saves in the win, while Potsdam's Zach Sheridan had 11 saves.
 
The Pioneers (1-1) return to action Wednesday as they travel across town to take on local rival, SUNY Poly.  Game time is scheduled for 4 p.m.