UTICA, NY – The Utica College men's lacrosse team returns home this Wednesday to face St. John Fisher in an Empire 8 Conference matchup. The game is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. at Charles A. Gaetano Stadium.
Last Time Out: The Pioneers are 5-7, with a 1-3 conference record this season. They are coming off a 23-5 loss against Nazareth College. After the 5-1 Nazareth lead in the first quarter, UC battled back to make it 5-4 early in the second quarter, but the Golden Flyers pulled away in the victory. Freshman
John Avery (Pittsford, NY/Pittsford-Mendon) scored two goals, while
Kevin Parisi (Glenwood, NJ/Vernon Township), junior
Jared Smaldon (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy) and senior
John Hanlon (Coconut Creek, FL/St. John Paul Academy) each scored a goal for the Pioneers.
Double Digits: Six players from the Pioneers roster have scored 10 or more goals this season, led by
John Avery (Pittsford, NY/Pittsford-Mendon) with 23 goals. He is currently top 10 in the Empire 8. Sophomore
Dale Wagner (Elbridge, NY/Jordan Elbridge) is second in the team with 19, followed by
John Hanlon (Coconut Creek, FL/St. John Paul Academy) (14),
Jared Smaldon (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy) (13), senior
Craig DiSanto (Montebello, NY/Suffern) (11) and freshman
James Daniele (Pleasantville, NY/Pleasantville) (10).
Dishing the Ball: John Hanlon (Coconut Creek, FL/St. John Paul Academy) is UC's assist leader this season. He currently has 19 assists and he ranks sixth in the conference. Trailing Hanlon is
James Daniele (Pleasantville, NY/Pleasantville), who posted 16 assists this season.
Guarding the Net: Senior
Harrison Bower (Northport, NY/Kings Park) is the Pioneers' leading goalie, starting eight games out of 10. Bower has 112 saves, with a .528 saves percentage, while averaging 11.20 per game. He ranks fifth in saves, ninth in saves percentage and third in saves per game in the Empire 8. Sophomore
Ryan Boshart (Fayetteville, NY/Fayetteville-Manlius) is second in the team with 53 saves, averaging 7.57 per game. Boshart is top 10 in saves and saves per game in the conference as well.
Scouting Fisher: The Cardinals are 10-1 (3-0 Empire 8) this season. They are coming off a 24-5 win against Houghton last Saturday. Nicholas Miller and Ian Evans are Fisher's leaders this season. Miller leads the team with 48 goals, while Evans has 34 goals and 21 assists.
Against Fisher: The Pioneers are 1-4 against the Cardinals in the last five years. The last time both teams meet was last year when UC lost 21-12 at Growney Stadium.
Ryan Desveaux (Bowmanville, ONT/St. Stephen Catholic) was the Pioneers leading scorer with six in the game.
Nick Yelich (Lancaster, NY/Depew) scored two goals, while
Dylan Dunham (Elbridge, NY/Jordan Elbridge),
John Hanlon (Coconut Creek, FL/St. John Paul Academy),
Jake Bratek (Syracuse, NY/Jamesville-Dewitt), and
Austin Forte (Central Square, NY/Central Square) scored a goal for the Pioneers.
Looking Ahead: The Pioneers will host Hartwick College next Wednesday (Apr. 17) in a conference matchup. Game time is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m.
