ALFRED, NY- The Utica College men's lacrosse team suffered its first loss of the season at the hands of Alfred University on Saturday, losing 12-8 in Empire 8 Conference action.
 
The Pioneers drop to 4-1 on the year and 2-1 in E8 play.  Alfred meanwhile improves to 4-0 (2-0 Empire 8).  Utica's season-opening winning streak is snapped at four games. The Pioneers look to bounce back Tuesday as they host SUNY Potsdam.  Game time is scheduled for 4 p.m.
 
Despite falling down 3-0 in the first 4:06 of action, Utica battled back to tie the score at 4-4 after the first quarter.  Alfred pulled away in the second quarter to take an 8-5 lead into halftime.  The Pioneers came within two heading into the final 15 minutes, but a fourth quarter surge sealed the deal for the Saxons.
 
Junior James Daniele (Pleasantville, NY/Pleasantville), who is coming off a six-point outing on Wednesday, led the Pioneers with five points on the day, including a game-high three goals.  Freshman Chase Kaufman (Atlanta, GA/Riverside Military Academy ) had another strong performance as he netted two goals, while John Avery (Pittsford, NY/Pittsford-Mendon) and Jacob Hyer (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) each had one goal and one assist.  Sophomore Gage Fiacco (Massena, NY/Massena) capped off the scoring with one goal of his own.
 
Freshman Ethan Brown (Binghamton, NY/Chenango Forks) and junior Kevin Parisi (Glenwood, NJ/Vernon Township) led UC with two caused turnovers apiece.  Sophomore Jozef Korpics (Center Valley, PA/Moravian Academy) made 15 saves in the loss.  Korpics is currently second in the conference with 68 saves through five games.