UTICA, NY — The Utica College men's lacrosse team opens its 2018 season on Wednesday March 7, as they take the short trip to Hamilton College to take on the Continentals in the eighth and Contineer Cup. Game time is set for 5 p.m. The Pioneers will play 15 regular season games, seven of which will be in Empire 8 play, with hopes of finishing in the top four in the conference for the first time since 2013.

Keep the Ball Rolling: UC wrapped up its 2017 campaign with a program-best 10 victories and narrowly missed out on the College's second bid into the Empire 8 Conference Tournament in program-history. Utica's four wins in Empire 8 play also matched the program record originally set back in 2013.

Season Openers: The Pioneers are 7-10 in season openers over the course of the last 17 years. They have won four straight season opening contests on two different occasions since the year 2000. This season the Pioneers look to start a new streak after falling in their last two season openers against Hamilton (2017) and national power St. Lawrence (2016).

Opening with a Rivalry Game: 2018 will be the second straight year that the Pioneers will open their season against nearby Hamilton College (Clinton, NY), with local bragging rights on the line, and the coveted Contineer Cup hanging in the balance. Last season the Pioneers pulled to within five goals with less than ten minutes to play, but the visiting Continentals spoiled UC's season-opening comeback bid with the final four goals of the contest to earn a 19-10 victory.  Hamilton has retained the Contineer Cup in seven meetings since the rivalry game earned its namesake back in 2011.

Veteran Coaching Staff: Head Coach Mike Parnell enters his 13th season at the helm of the men's lacrosse program.  He is just the second head coach in program-history and has 79 career victories to his credit. Parnell will be joined on the sidelines by former Pioneer Sean Behan and Lake Erie College graduate Zach Bruening.

Leading the Way: Utica's 2018 captains will be senior Ryan Desveaux (Bowmanville, ONT/St. Stephen Catholic) and junior's Jake Bratek (Syracuse, NY/Jamesville-Dewitt) and Craig DiSanto (Montebello, NY/Suffern). Desveaux has played in 47 games over the course of the last three years in the blue and orange, recording 64 goals, 20 assists, 49 ground balls and 12 caused turnovers. Last season he finished fourth on the team with 27 goals and fifth with 13 assists. Desveaux needs 17 points to move into the top 10 on the College's all-time scoring list.  Bratek appeared in all 16 games last season for the Pioneers and made an instant impact. He transferred into Utica from Syracuse University and finished third on the team in goals (33) and second in assists (15). He was also an Empire 8 All-Conference Second Team selection. DiSanto has appeared in 27 games in the last two seasons, racking up nine goals and three assists.

Adding Offensive Depth: Senior Nick Yelich (Lancaster, NY/Depew) scored 30 points (14 goals and 16 assists) last season and enters his final Spring with 53 career points in 37 games played. Junior John Hanlon (Coconut Creek, FL/St. John Paul Academy) will be a fixture in the lineup once again after registering eight points on two goals and six assists last season. Hanlon has also been known to enter the face-off circle when needed and is 93-for-194 in two seasons at Utica. Senior Patrick Dickson (West Palm Beach, FL/Cardinal Newman) was effective in five games played last season, netting five goals while adding one assist.

Between the Pipes: Junior goalie Harrison Bower (Northport, NY/Kings Park) is the most experienced goalie returning to the lineup, having played in 11 career games in his first two seasons. He has a career record of 3-0 to go along with 44 saves.  Junior Brad Schulman (Airmont, NY/Suffern) has played in four career games for Utica, while sophomore Dylan Allen (Rome, NY/Holland Patent) made two appearances last year and stopped four shots. Freshman Ryan Boshart (Fayetteville, NY/Fayetteville-Manlius) will add depth to the Pioneers' net protecting unit.

Looking for Breakout Seasons: Utica's Nicholas Horne (Niskayuna, NY/Niskayuna) played in all 16 games for the Pioneers last season and posted four assists to go along with 16 ground balls and nine caused turnovers. Joining Horne in the midfield will be Tyler Giachinta (Cold Spring, NY/Haldane), who gained valuable experience last year, playing in all 16 games and posting two assists, 19 ground balls and nine caused turnovers. Justin Potocki (Verona, NY/Vernon Verona Sherrill) will be called upon to provide senior leadership in the midfield after playing in ten games last season. Sophomore Austin Forte (Central Square, NY/Central Square) also posted four helpers' in six games last season and hopes to add to a solid freshman season this Spring.

Strong Sophomore Class: Utica's sophomore class is 13 players deep and depth at the midfield position will be provided by a group of promising second year athletes. Jimmy Vienneau (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy), Jared Smaldon (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy), Carter Steinhilper (Higganum, CT/Haddam-Killingworth), Austin Forte (Central Square, NY/Central Square), Trevor Pletl (Deerfield, NY/Whitesboro), Zach Duby (Jamesville, NY/Jamesville-Dewitt) and Dakota Allen (Rome, NY/Holland Patent) all continue to improve and will compete for time on game day as they enter their second season of collegiate lacrosse.

On the Defensive End: The Pioneers defensive unit is young but talented and features sophomore's Matt Fedullo (Amsterdam, NY/Amsterdam), Alex Velazquez (Brookhaven, NY/Longwood), Trevor Brady (Walpole, MA/Walpole), Tom Zegarelli (New Hartford, NY/New Hartford) and Michael Foresti (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro).  Senior Anthony Thomas (Clinton, NY/Vernon Verona Sherrill) will also look to play a more expanded role on the defensive end after playing in four games last season.

Welcome to College Lax: The Pioneers welcome a big freshman class of 11 players. Those players include: Jacob Hyer (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro), Andrew Yozzo (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro), Dale Wagner (Elbridge, NY/Jordan Elbridge), Nick Alexander (New Hartford, NY/New Hartford), Dylan Dunham (Elbridge, NY/Jordan Elbridge), Ryan Boshart (Fayetteville, NY/Fayetteville-Manlius), Hunter LaPlace (Chester, CT/Valley Regional) Zack Raczynski (Haymarket, VA/Battlefield), Mike Riva (Readington, NJ/Hunterdon Central), Connor McDuell (Middletown, CT/Vinal Technical) and Jack O'Shaughnessy (Knoxville, TN/Utica Notre Dame).

Non-Conference Action: The Pioneers have eight non-conference games before entering Empire 8 play. Six of those non-conference contests will be on the road and two will be played at Charles A. Gaetano Stadium. The six road games will be at Hamilton College (3/7), SUNY Potsdam (3/10), Alvernia University (3/17), Keuka College (3/21), Oswego (3/28) and Alfred State College (4/4). Their two home non-conference contests will be against Marywood University (3/14) and local rival SUNY Polytechnic (4/11).
 
Empire 8 Conference Play: Utica opens conference play on the road against Houghton College on March 24. They then return home to take on the Soaring Eagles of Elmira College (3/31). The Pioneers will play one more home conference game against Stevens Institute of Technology (4/7) before a two game road trip against St. John Fisher College (4/14) and Hartwick College (4/18). They will cap off their regular season with two home games against Nazareth College (4/21) and Alfred University (4/28).

Pioneers All-Access: If you can't make it to the game, Pioneers All-Access is the place to be on game day, providing live video and stats for all UC home games. Pioneers All-Access is a completely FREE service provided for those members of the Pioneer nation that might not be able to make it out to the game … Make sure to check out Pioneers All-Access at http://portal.stretchinternet.com/utica/.