UTICA, NY – The Utica College men's lacrosse team will host Elmira College on Saturday at 1 p.m. for some Empire 8 competition.
 
Last Time Out: The Pioneers lost to the Oswego State Lakers this past week 15-7 dropping their record to 3-4 overall. UC's Ryan Desveaux (Bowmanville, ONT/St. Stephen Catholic) had four goals and was one of four Pioneers to score on the day. John Hanlon (Coconut Creek, FL/St. John Paul Academy) and Nick Yelich (Lancaster, NY/Depew) both finished with one score and one assist in the loss. The goalkeepers, Harrison Bower (Northport, NY/Kings Park) and Ryan Boshart (Fayetteville, NY/Fayetteville-Manlius), split time in the net and combined to record a total of 12 total saves.
 
On Offense: UC is currently fourth in the Empire 8 averaging 8.71 goals per game and fifth in assists per game with 4.71. Senior Ryan Desveaux (Bowmanville, ONT/St. Stephen Catholic) leads the team and is ranked fourth in the conference with 20 goals.  Senior Nick Yelich (Lancaster, NY/Depew) has played in seven games tallying 11 goals and eight assists. He is eighth in Empire 8 competition with 1.14 assists per game. John Hanlon (Coconut Creek, FL/St. John Paul Academy) has tallied a team-best nine assists, while Jake Bratek (Syracuse, NY/Jamesville-Dewitt) ranks tenth in the E8 with a total of 13 goals.
 
Defensively: Freshmen Nick Alexander (New Hartford, NY/New Hartford) has started all seven games this season, leading the team in caused turnovers (12) and is second in groundballs (23).  Along side Alexander, junior Tyler Giachinta (Cold Spring, NY/Haldane) is second on the team with 10 caused turnovers and third with 20 groundballs. UC is currently tied for fourth with St. John Fisher in the Empire 8 with 78 caused turnovers averaging 11.14 per game.
 
Goalies In Net: Junior Harrison Bower (Northport, NY/Kings Park) leads the team with 68 saves after dealing with 220 shots faced. Bower is 2-4 as a starter and is fifth in the Empire 8 with a .504 save percentage. In three games of action freshmen Ryan Boshart (Fayetteville, NY/Fayetteville-Manlius) is 1-0 in his only start and is second on the team with 105 minutes played in net. Boshart has faced 79 shots and allowed only 14 goals this season thanks to a tally of 35 saves so far. The Pioneers are first in the Empire 8 averaging 15.71 saves per game and 110 total saves combined.
 
Last Meeting:  The Pioneers defeated the Soaring eagles last year 20-7 in their final game of the season (4/29/17).  Current scoring leaders Ryan Desveaux (Bowmanville, ONT/St. Stephen Catholic), Nick Yelich (Lancaster, NY/Depew) and Jake Bratek (Syracuse, NY/Jamesville-Dewitt) combined for seven goals and six assists in the win.  Ten different Pioneers were able to score that game.
 
Meet Elmira:  Entering the week 0-5 overall, the Soaring Eagles are still in search of their first win of the season. In the team's last game, Elmira was defeated by Kean University, 14-2, and will look to turn its season around against Utica. Nevin Olney and Kevin DiMagno lead Elmira with four total points each, combining for five scores and three assists. Jacob Mattice is 0-4 as the starter in net, recording 54 saves and 42 goals allowed on 157 shots faced.
 
Looking Ahead: UC will travel to Alfred next week on Wednesday, April 4th to take on Alfred State College in a non-conference contest. The game is scheduled to start at 4 p.m.