Utica, NY -- The Utica College men's lacrosse team is on the road Wednesday, to take on Empire 8 rival Nazareth College. Game time is scheduled for 4 p.m.
Last Time Out: The Pioneers recorded their fifth straight victory after beating conference opponent, Alfred, 16-15 at home last Saturday … Senior
Brickman House (Oneida, WI/Pulaski) recorded a team-high five points on two goals and three assists …
Jake Bratek (Syracuse, NY/Jamesville-Dewitt) and
Nick Yelich (Lancaster, NY/Depew) each scored three goals and had one assist for the Pioneers … Sophomore
Dominic Castiglia (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool) and senior
Liam Wheatley (Rochester, NY/Webster Schroeder) each scored two goals in the contest … Utica goalie
Parker Smith (Dexter, NY/General Brown) was able to stop nine shots while in the net … The Pioneers are now 7-3 overall and 2-1 in conference play, looking to win their sixth straight.
Team Leaders: House currently leads the team with his career-high 39 points this season … He has scored 24 goals and has a team-high 15 assists so far this year, ranking sixth in the Empire 8 in assists … Castiglia is second on the team with 36 points this season, recording seven assists and a team-high 29 goals … He is now ranked fifth in the Empire 8 in total goals so far this season …
Rusty Dessert (Islip, NY/Islip) leads all defensemen in ground balls, with 38, and caused turnovers with 24 …
Nick Finnegan (Bayshore, NY/Islip) is the team's face-off specialist, making him first on the team with 120 won face-offs and scooped up a team-high 54 ground balls.
The Goalie: Smith remains between the pipes as the Pioneers' top performing goalie this season … He is 5-3 as a starter so far this year and has tallied a career-high of 98 saves and counting this season … Smith is currently ranked second in the Empire 8, averaging 12.25 saves per game.
Scouting Nazareth: The Nazareth Golden Flyers are sitting at a record of 5-7 overall and 2-2 in the Empire 8 … The team lost its last contest at home to the Ithaca Bombers by a score of 13-8 … Nazareth seniors Hunter Burdick and Joe Eiskant each two goals in the loss … Jack Crowley and Seth DeLisle both scored one goal on the day as well … Crowley is having a great season so far, leading the team in points (33) and scored a team-high 25 goals … Nazareth's goalie Alex Winkler is 4-6 so far this year in net and has stopped 103 shots this year.
Against Nazareth: The last time these two teams met, the Golden Flyers walked away with the 20-7 victory over UC …
Dominic Castiglia (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool) and
Ryan Desveaux (Bowmanville, ONT/St. Stephen Catholic) netted two goals apiece in the contest … A hot Utica College team will be trying to earn its first win over Nazareth since the 2008 season when the Pioneers earned an 11-9 win.
Looking Ahead: After Nazareth, the Pioneers will then travel to SUNY Canton this Saturday to take on the Kangaroos. Game time is scheduled for 1 p.m.