UTICA, NY — The Utica College men's lacrosse team returns to the turf on Saturday when the Pioneers travel north to take on the Bears of SUNY Potsdam. Game time is scheduled for 1 p.m.

Follow the Action: Fans unable to make it to Potsdam can follow the contest live online.  Live stats and video will be available courtesy of Potsdam athletic communications. Check the men's lacrosse schedule page right here at ucpioneers.com for live links.

Season Opener: Utica's Nick Yelich (Lancaster, NY/Depew) led the Pioneers with two goals and one assist in a season opening loss to Hamilton College on the road Wednesday. Jake Bratek (Syracuse, NY/Jamesville-Dewitt), Ryan Desveaux (Bowmanville, ONT/St. Stephen Catholic) and Zach Duby (Jamesville, NY/Jamesville-Dewitt) each posted one goal for the Pioneers, who fell in the 8th annual Contineer Cup by the score of 18-5.  Desveaux is the program's active leading scorer with 65 career goals. Tyler Giachinta (Cold Spring, NY/Haldane) posted four ground balls and caused two turnovers for the Pioneers.

Between the Pipes: Utica junior goalie Harrison Bower (Northport, NY/Kings Park) stopped 13 shots in 45 minutes of work Wednesday. Brad Schuman came on in relief and made two saves for the Pioneers in the fourth quarter against Hamilton.

Holding Down the Fort: Jared Smaldon (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy) and Nick Alexander (New Hartford, NY/New Hartford) each added two caused turnovers for Utica in Wednesday's opener. John Hanlon (Coconut Creek, FL/St. John Paul Academy) posted his first assist of the season for the Pioneers.

Scouting Potsdam: Potsdam is currently 0-2 on the year. They are returning nine seniors, seven juniors, ten sophomores and four freshman. Their two losses were against St. John Fisher, 11-7, and SUNY Canton, 10-8. The Bears are led by senior Eric Soderquist who has three goals and two assists for a total of five points. Classmates Lukas Baildon and Nick Orsini each have four points.
 
Last Meeting with The Bears: In the last meeting between the Bears and the Pioneers, UC came out victorious by a score of 14-11. The Bears raced out to a 7-3 lead over the first 25 minutes of the contest. The Pioneers would answer back with a run of their own as Dominic Castiglia scored four times during the stretch to put the Pioneers up 10-7 with 5:52 to play in the third. Potsdam out shot Utica 45-37 and edged them in ground balls 33-32. Ryan Desveaux (Bowmanville, ONT/St. Stephen Catholic) led the Pioneers with four goals and one assist while Jake Bratek (Syracuse, NY/Jamesville-Dewitt) had three goals of his own. Nick Yelich (Lancaster, NY/Depew) contributed with two points in the win.
 
Home Opener: The Pioneers will welcome Marywood University to the Charles A. Gaetano Stadium on Wednesday, March 14 in the home opener. Game time is set for 4 p.m.