UTICA, NY – The Utica College men's lacrosse team wraps up its 2018 season at home Saturday against Alfred University as the Pioneers honor their six graduating seniors on Senior Day. The game is set to begin at 1 p.m. at Charles A. Gaetano Stadium.

Our House: The Pioneers currently 3-2 at the friendly confines of Gaetano Stadium. Utica is 6-8 overall and 2-4 in Empire 8 play.

Honoring One of the Pioneer Greats: Next Thursday, UC men's lacrosse alum Mick Krajcic '12 will be inducted into the Pioneer Hall of Fame. Krajacic was a four year lockdown defender for the Pioneers. He was the first player in program-history to be named a USILA All-American (third team selection) and he was the program's first three-time Empire 8 All-Conference First Team selection. The induction ceremony will be located in the Clark Athletic Center Gymnasium and will be hosted in conjunction with the senior student-athlete recognition ceremony.

Going Out on Top: Senior sharpshooter Ryan Desveaux (Bowmanville, ONT/St. Stephen Catholic) will look to end his 2018 with the most goals in the Empire 8. Desveaux is currently tied for first in goals scored this season with 41. He is also averaging 2.93 goals per game, which is first in the conference. Desveaux is also averaging 3.21 points per game which ranks sixth in the E8. He has played in 61 career games and ranks fourth on the College's all-time list with 129 points. He is also one of four players in program-history to score over 100 career goals (105). His 41 goals this season are a personal best and ranks seventh on the College's all-time single season list.

Last Time Out: The Pioneers dropped their most recent Empire 8 matchup to Nazareth College last Saturday at home. Jake Bratek (Syracuse, NY/Jamesville-Dewitt), Tyler Giachinta (Cold Spring, NY/Haldane), Jared Smaldon (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy), and Michael Foresti (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) each had one goal in the loss. Harrison Bower (Northport, NY/Kings Park) started at goalie and recorded nine saves. Freshman goalie Ryan Boshart (Fayetteville, NY/Fayetteville-Manlius) then got the nod at the start of the second half and racked up 11 total saves.

Thank You Seniors: Prior to the start of Saturday's game the Pioneers will honor the senior class for their contributions to the program over the course of the last four years.  Utica will say goodbye to six seniors this year, including Ryan Desveaux (Bowmanville, ONT/St. Stephen Catholic), Jake Bratek (Syracuse, NY/Jamesville-Dewitt), Anthony Thomas (Clinton, NY/Vernon Verona Sherrill), Justin Potocki (Verona, NY/Vernon Verona Sherrill), Nick Yelich (Lancaster, NY/Depew) and Patrick Dickson (West Palm Beach, FL/Cardinal Newman).

Scoring Threats: Nick Yelich (Lancaster, NY/Depew) has played a major role on the offensive end this season, totaling a career-high 34 points on 20 goals and 14 assists. Jake Bratek (Syracuse, NY/Jamesville-Dewitt) has a total of 19 goals and 13 assists heading into the season finale. In 28 career games at Utica, he has 80 points (52 goals, 28 assists). Freshman Dylan Dunham (Elbridge, NY/Jordan Elbridge) and junior John Hanlon (Coconut Creek, FL/St. John Paul Academy) have also posted solid numbers this season. Hanlon is tied with Yelich for the team-lead with 14 assists and he has 23 total points. Dunham leads all freshman and ranks fourth overall with 13 goals.

Two Great Goalie Options: The Pioneers have two solid options in goal as junior Harrison Bower (Northport, NY/Kings Park) and freshman Ryan Boshart (Fayetteville, NY/Fayetteville-Manlius) have essentially split time between the pipes. Boshart has a 4-2 record and a .579 save percentage, which ranks second in the Empire 8. Bower has played in 12 games and ranks third in the Empire 8 with an average of 9.25 saves per game.

On the Defensive End: Utica's Matt Fedullo (Amsterdam, NY/Amsterdam) is in the top ten in the Empire 8 with an average of 1.71 caused turnovers per game. Freshman Nick Alexander (New Hartford, NY/New Hartford) has had an excellent start to his career at Utica and ranks second on the team with 18 caused turnovers.  Alexander is also tied with face off specialist Jimmy Vienneau (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy) for first on the team with 57 ground balls.

Against Alfred: The Pioneers are 3-2 against Alfred in the last five seasons and UC is in search of its second consecutive win over the Saxons. Last year Utica won a close game by the score of 16-15. In that game, Jake Bratek (Syracuse, NY/Jamesville-Dewitt) and Nick Yelich (Lancaster, NY/Depew) led the way with three goals and one assist each.

Scouting the Saxons: Alfred currently owns an 8-6 overall record and sits in second place in the Empire 8 standings with a conference record of 4-2. Jake Lynch has been a major contributor for the Saxon's offense totaling 34 goals and he ranks third in the conference in total goals scored. Lynch, also has 15 assists putting him at sixth in the conference. Joe Fornataro has also contributed to Alfred's offense with 30 goals scored this season, which ranks seventh in the E8.