UTICA, NY - It was a longer than usual wait for the Utica College Men's Lacrosse team to play Castleton. The Spartans were the next opponent for the Pioneers in 2020 before the season was halted, and an opportunity at a second straight win had to wait until 2021. With the new season starting against the Spartans, the Pioneers made sure to pick up where they left off one year and three days from the scheduled date of their next game from last season.

Utica scored 8 of the next 9 goals following an early 2-2 tie, and never looked back as they cruised to a 13-6 win over visiting Castleton in a non-conference game at Charles A. Gaetano Stadium. The win puts Utica at a 1-0 record, and also improves their record to 4-0 in the all-time series against Castleton. The Spartans fell to 0-3.

The special teams were positively supreme in the win. Utica went 2-for-3 with the extra man, and also scored a pair of goals from their man down unit.

The Pioneers outhustled the Spartans on ground balls to a 40-23 clip, and outshot them on the goal frame 27-22.

John Avery (Pittsford, NY/Pittsford-Mendon) set the pace for the Pioneers with four goals and an assist. Dale Wagner (Elbridge, NY/Jordan Elbridge) turned in a two goal, one assist performance, as did midfielder James Daniele (Pleasantville, NY/Pleasantville), who scored a pair of stylish goals to help the UC cause. Dylan Dunham (Elbridge, NY/Jordan Elbridge) logged a goal and two assists, and Jacob Hyer (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) rounded out the team's multi-point performers with a goal and an assist. Nick Litzenberger (Freeville, NY/Cortland) and Chase Kaufman (Atlanta, GA/Riverside Military Academy ) scored their first goals as Pioneers.

Castleton was led by a hat trick from Chris LaBonte, and a four point performance by Trey Lang.

In goal, UC goaltender Jozef Korpics (Center Valley, PA/Moravian Academy) stopped 16 of 22 to earn his second career win. Chris Wilk stopped 14 in the loss for the Spartans.

The Pioneers pulled into the permanent lead late in an eventful first quarter. Dale Wagner (Elbridge, NY/Jordan Elbridge) and Castleton's Chris LaBonte traded unassisted goals to open up the scoring. The early 1-1 tie gave way to one of the more spectacular man-down goals in recent program history. At 5:39, John Avery (Pittsford, NY/Pittsford-Mendon) delivered an impressive man-down goal that took a herculean transition effort. With the Castleton man-up unit holding the ball, defenseman Kevin Parisi (Glenwood, NJ/Vernon Township) stick checked an opponent's crosse right out of his hands, then cleared the ball to Jack O'Shaughnessy (Knoxville, TN/Utica Notre Dame) who fed Avery for a 2-1 lead.

After Castleton re-tied the score, Avery struck again by making good on a crisp extra pass by Dunham for a 3-2 lead, and Dale Wagner (Elbridge, NY/Jordan Elbridge) recorded a man-up goal for a 4-2 advantage at the end of 15 minutes of play.

The second quarter was the James Daniele (Pleasantville, NY/Pleasantville) show. At 14:12, he raced in off the left wing and made a fierce high-low move on the goalkeeper to score his first of two back-to-back goals. At 7:20, Daniele saw Avery curl into the middle of the field. He cut across the face of the net and inverted his crosse to beat the keeper, and the Pioneers were up 6-2 on a second man-down goal. Avery got his hat trick goal before the break for a 7-3 lead.

Utica scored the first three goals of the second half to set the tempo for the rest of the game, and pull clear of the Spartans for good. UC went on to outscore their visitors by a 6-3 second half margin in the victory.

The Pioneers will take on the second-year program at SUNY New Paltz on Friday. Faceoff in the Mid-Hudson Valley is set for 3 p.m.