Utica, NY - The Utica College men's lacrosse team returns to Charles A. Gaetano Stadium to open up the 2020 season with Wilkes University on Wednesday at 4 p.m. This is the second-straight season-opening match between the pair.
 
A Look Back: The Pioneers fell short of an Empire 8 playoff berth, finishing sixth in the conference with a league record of 3-5.  Overall, the team finished just two games below .500 with a 7-9 record. The most convincing win of the year came in a 20-4 victory over Elmira College on the road on April 20. Then-sophomore Dylan Dunham (Elbridge, NY/Jordan Elbridge) found the back of the net four times, for his third four-goal game of the season.
 
Sideline Support: UC continues to be led by '02 graduate Mike Parnell, who is entering his 15^th season at the helm of the men's lacrosse program. Parnell is just eight victories shy of reaching the 100-win plateau. Justin Patterson was hired on as the assistant coach in the summer of 2019. Patterson joins the sidelines after stints at Adrian College (MI), NCAA Division II Assumption College and fellow E8 competitor, Houghton College. The Corning, NY native was a four-year starter at Long Island University Post (D2), helping the Pioneers to back-to-back National Championship Titles. Jeffrey Conley was also added to the coaching staff during the off season. Conley comes to Utica after serving as the assistant coach a NJCAA Onondaga Community College, where he helped the Lazers to a National Championship in 2018.The Liverpool, NY native played at Division II LeMoyne during his freshman season, helping them to win a National Title. He also earned a NJCAA title as an athlete at Onondaga, before transferring to Division I Merrimack for his senior season.
 
Experienced Roster: The Pioneers return a wealth of experience this season, as they return 23 upperclassmen from last year's team. Entering their final collegiate seasons, the senior class is the largest outside of the first-year class and includes 10 players: Jimmy Vienneau (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy), Jared Smaldon (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy), Carter Steinhilper (Higganum, CT/Haddam-Killingworth), Michael Foresti (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro), Dakota Allen (Rome, NY/Holland Patent), Alex Velazquez (Brookhaven, NY/Longwood), Dylan Allen (Rome, NY/Holland Patent), Trevor Pletl (Deerfield, NY/Whitesboro), Zach Duby (Jamesville, NY/Jamesville-Dewitt) and Tom Zegarelli (New Hartford, NY/New Hartford).
 
Fresh Faces: The largest class represented in this year's roster is the freshman class, featuring 15 student-athletes: Sam Witkowski (Port Jervis, NY/Minisink Valley), Matt Robinson (Montville, NJ/Montville), Zach Shaler (Utica, NY/Whitesboro), Francis Tavino (Rochester, NY/Aquinas Institute of Rochester), Jozef Korpics (Center Valley, PA/Moravian Academy), Evan Stevens (Ithaca. NY/Ithaca), Christopher Druin (Norwalk, CT/Brien McMahon), Ryan Washo (Syracuse, NY/West Genesee), Ryan Cantilli (Millbrook, NY/Millbrook), Christian Abdu (Niskayuna, NY/Nislkayuna), Josh Tupper (Hastings, NY/Paul V. Moore), James Russo (Hicksville, NY/Holy Trinity), Zach Lawas (Horseheads, NY/Horseheads), Rajveer Singh (Utica, NY/Thomas R. Proctor) and Gage Fiacco (Massena, NY/Massena).
 
Key Returners: UC returns three of its top four leading scorers from last season. Sophomore John Avery (Pittsford, NY/Pittsford-Mendon) enters this season as the top returning scorer, tabbing 35 points last season on six assists and a team-high 29 goals. Avery was also one of only two players last season to start every single game for the Pioneers. Classmate James Daniele (Pleasantville, NY/Pleasantville) was also very impressive last season, posting 12 goals and 18 assists, while Dale Wagner (Elbridge, NY/Jordan Elbridge) tied with Daniele in goals, posting just one more assist, 19, during his sophomore campaign.
 
Defense Wins: All of the main defensive contributors will return for the 2019 season. All-Empire 8 Honorable Mention Kevin Parisi (Glenwood, NJ/Vernon Township) was the only other player outside of Avery to start all 16 games in 2019, posting team-highs in both ground balls (73) and caused turnovers (45). Foresti, sophomore Tyler Crouse (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) and junior Nick Alexander (New Hartford, NY/New Hartford) all return to complete the core defensive nucleus from 2019. Foresti was second on the team in ground balls, picking up 45, while Alexander was second in caused turnovers with 22.
 
In The Net: After graduating starter Harrison Bower (Northport, NY/Kings Park), Utica will call upon Dylan Allen (Rome, NY/Holland Patent) and Ryan Boshart (Fayetteville, NY/Fayetteville-Manlius) in goal. Boshart appeared in nine games last season - starting in four of them - while recording 54 saves and a .519 save percentage. Allen appeared in six games and totaled a .480 save percentage during his junior year.
 
Non-Conference Competition: The Pioneers have scheduled nine non-conference contests for the upcoming season. They will host five at home, Wilkes (2/26), SUNY Poly (2/29), Marywood (3/11), Castleton (3/14) and Misericordia (3/28). Four will take place on the road, as they travel to Hamilton (3/4), SUNY Postdam (3/7), Keuka (3/18) and Oswego State (3/25).

Empire 8 Action: E8 play will kick off well into Utica's slate, as it will host Houghton on March 21, following seven non-conference games. It will also host Alfred (4/4), and Elmira (4//18). UC will be on the road for in conference play against Sage (4/1), St. John Fisher (4/11), Nazareth (4/15) and Hartwick (4/25).

Pioneers Gameday Links: If you can't make it to the game, be sure to check out ucpioneers.com for links to live statistics and video. All home games can be streamed free of charge here.