UTICA, NY- The Utica College men's lacrosse team is back on the road Saturday for a match up against SUNY Canton. The opening face-off is scheduled for 1 p.m.
 
Last Time Out: The team was last in action on Wednesday as it dropped a game to Nazareth 21-11 in an Empire 8 matchup… Sophomore Jake Bratek (Syracuse, NY/Jamesville-Dewitt) led the Pioneers with four total points on three goals and one assist… Liam Wheatley (Rochester, NY/Webster Schroeder) and Ryan Desveaux (Bowmanville, ONT/St. Stephen Catholic) were the other Utica players to have a multi-goal game, each scoring two on the afternoon.
 
Castiglia Honors: Sophomore Dominic Castiglia (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool) was recognized as the Empire 8 Men's Lacrosse Player of the Week on Monday for last week's performances… He tallied 10 goals in two games throughout the week, helping the Pioneers to victories over Alfred State and Alfred University... Against Alfred State he led the team to a 17-5 triumph, contributing with a career-high eight goals... In the 16-15 win over Alfred University, Castiglia registered two goals and one assist… He is currently leading the team with 30 goals on the season and is second on the squad with 38 points.
 
Conference Update: Four out of Utica's last five games in the regular season are Empire 8 Conference match ups… Currently the team is sixth in the conference with a 2-2 record and is only one game back for the fourth and final spot that would earn entry into the conference tournament… The team controls its own destiny because three out of the remaining four conference games are against teams who are either tied with or ahead of Utica in the standings.
 
Sharing is Caring: As a team, the Pioneers rank second in the conference averaging 8.45 assists per game…They currently have 93 total assists…Senior Brickman House (Oneida, WI/Pulaski) is fifth in the conference averaging 1.45 assists per game and he has a team-high 16 on the season… Jake Bratek (Syracuse, NY/Jamesville-Dewitt) and Ryan Desveaux (Bowmanville, ONT/St. Stephen Catholic) are the other Pioneers who have over ten assists coming in at 11 and 10, respectively.
 
Scouting Canton: The Kangaroos are heading into Saturday's contest with a 3-6 overall record and they are coming off of an 11-7 defeat against SUNY Potsdam… Josh Yelvington is currently leading the team with 31 points off of 24 goals and seven assists… Trenton Yule and Kyle Smith are the only other Canton players who have at least 20 total points on the season… Kody Kocsis locks down between the pipes saving .518 percent of the shots he is faced with.
 
Against Canton: The last time these two teams faced off was in 2015 when the Pioneers came away with a 16-3 victory… Ryan Desveaux (Bowmanville, ONT/St. Stephen Catholic) had two goals in that game… That was the only matchup between the two teams in the past five years.
 
Looking Ahead: The Pioneers will be back in action on Wednesday at Hoboken, NJ for an Empire 8 Conference matchup against Stevens... The opening face-off is scheduled for 6 p.m.