The Utica College men's lacrosse team returns home on Saturday to face off against Empire 8 rival Alfred University at 4 p.m. at Charles A. Gaetano Stadium.
Last Time Out: The Pioneers earned their fourth straight victory after beating Alfred State 17-5 at home last Wednesday… Sophomore
Dominic Castiglia (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool) recorded a career-high eight goals, while junior
Ryan Desveaux (Bowmanville, ONT/St. Stephen Catholic) posted a career-high seven points on three goals and four assists… Pioneer goalie
Parker Smith (Dexter, NY/General Brown) stopped six shots in the win.
Division III Week: The Pioneers and their Student Athlete Advisory Committee are currently participating in Division III Week … Division III Week is a positive opportunity for all individuals associated with Division III to observe and celebrate the impact of athletics and of student-athletes on the campus and surrounding community.
Change War: As a conference, the Student-Athlete Advisory Committees (SAACs) from the Empire 8 and Liberty League are competing in a Change War throughout the week to raise money for Special Olympics.
Sign Making Contest: The Utica College Student-Athlete Advisory Committee will also be holding a contest for the best homemade sign at UC sporting events this week … Those interested need to make a sign, come support UC athletics in this week's home games, and tweet a picture of themselves with their sign to @UticaSAAC. The person with the best sign will be named the winner and will receive a prize.
Pioneers' Midseason Turnaround: Utica shook off their 19-2 home loss against nationally-ranked Ithaca College on March 25 by winning four straight games … They crushed SUNY Poly 19-8 on the road (3/27), won a close contest at home against Oswego 12-10 (3/29), set a new program record for goals scored in a single game by beating Houghton 31-7 last Saturday, and beat Alfred State 17-5 on Wednesday… The Pioneers now have a 6-3 overall record, and they are 1-1 in the Empire 8… They are also ranked second in the Empire 8 in goals (13.78), assists (9.0), points (22.78), and ground balls (36.78) per game.
House Leading the Way: Senior midfielder
Brickman House (Oneida, WI/Pulaski) leads the Pioneers this season with 34 points (22 goals and 12 assists)… Castiglia is ranked second on the team with 33 points, but he now has a team-high 27 goals… He is also ranked first in the Empire 8 in shots per game (8.56) and fifth in the conference in goals per game (3).
Smith Blocking the Way: Smith is now 4-3 and still leads the team in saves (89)… He is also ranked second in the Empire 8 in saves per game (12.71) and has the conference's fifth best save percentage (.509)… Thanks to his regular season performance, the Pioneers are now ranked third in the Empire 8 in saves per game (11.78) and has the conference's fourth best save percentage (.512).
Scouting Alfred: The Alfred Saxons are 4-5 overall and have yet to win an Empire 8 Conference game (0-3)… They lost three straight games after getting crushed 19-9 against the Nazareth Golden Flyers at home last Wednesday… Alfred junior Brett McMichael led the team with four goals and two assists on the day… Junior Jake Lynch on the other hand is having a great season leading the team in points (45) and assists (16)… He and sophomore Joe Fornataro both recorded a team-high 29 goals this year… Saxons' goalie Drew Gardner is 2-3 and has a team-high 55 saves this season… Alfred's other goalie Chris Bucciarelli is also having a memorable year… He is 2-1 and stopped 35 shots.
Against the Saxons: The Pioneers are 3-3 against the Saxons in the past six seasons… Their last victory against the Saxons came on the road in the 2014 season (4/12/14)… Utica's Christian Reiller recorded a game-high four points (three goals and one assist) to help Utica beat the Saxons 9-4.
Looking Ahead: After Alfred, the Pioneers will be back on the road this Wednesday to play another Empire 8 opponent, Nazareth College… Game time is scheduled for 4 p.m.
