Keuka Park, NY - The Utica College men's lacrosse team had a powerful offensive performance on Saturday to remain undefeated, and open conference play on the right footing. Utica broke a 2-2 tie by scoring eight of the final nine goals in the first half, and the Pioneers stabilized their lead with an even second half as UC polished off a 16-9 win over the Wolves in Keuka Park.

The Pioneers improve to 3-0, and 1-0 in the Empire 8 Conference. This marks Utica's first 3-0 start since the 2006 season.

The Wolves are now 0-3.

Dylan Dunham (Elbridge, NY/Jordan Elbridge) was the team's top offensive performer with three goals and three assists. John Avery (Pittsford, NY/Pittsford-Mendon) and Dale Wagner (Elbridge, NY/Jordan Elbridge) finished with four goals apiece, and Chase Kaufman (Atlanta, GA/Riverside Military Academy ) had the first hat trick of his Utica career. Nick Litzenberger (Freeville, NY/Cortland) and James Daniele (Pleasantville, NY/Pleasantville) added the remaining Pioneer scores. Jacob Hyer (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) tacked on two assists.

Kevin Parisi (Glenwood, NJ/Vernon Township) led the defense with seven caused turnovers and six ground balls. In goal, Jozef Korpics (Center Valley, PA/Moravian Academy) got the win with eleven saves in 52 minutes of work. Jon Goodspeed (Binghamton, NY/Chenango Forks) made one save in relief.

Keuka's Kasey Gallina had four goals and an assist. Chris Bellanca scored twice. 

The Pioneers outshot the Wolves 55-29. UC was 3-of-5 on the man-up, and the man-down unit also provided a pair of goals as well. Keuka had 33 turnovers to Utica's 22, and the Wolves held a narrow 15-14 advantage on the faceoff for the afternoon. Utica finished the game 26-of-34 on clearing attempts. 

The game got off to a sharp start for the Pioneers as they scored twice in the first five minutes to get the jump on their hosts. Nick Litzenberger (Freeville, NY/Cortland) scored unassisted on the man-up, and John Avery (Pittsford, NY/Pittsford-Mendon) hit paydirt for his first goal of the afternoon and a 2-0 lead. Keuka would counter with a pair of goals by Gallina to tie the game at two.

With a 2-2 score on the board, the Pioneers sent a loud and clear message that the game was about to no longer be close. Dunham scored at even strength at 3:54, and Kaufman scored on the man-down at 2:11 for a 4-2 lead after one.

The second quarter was where the true damage was done offensively for Utica, as they were able to put the game away for good before the halftime break. The Pioneers outscored the Wolves 6-1 in the second stanza, capped off by a John Avery (Pittsford, NY/Pittsford-Mendon) goal with fourteen seconds left that would become the game-winning goal. Utica led 10-3 at the half.

The second half was evenly split with two 3-3 quarters. Wagner went on to post a second half hat trick to lead the way for the Pioneers, while John Avery (Pittsford, NY/Pittsford-Mendon) scored twice, and James Daniele (Pleasantville, NY/Pleasantville) tallied his lone goal of the day. That effort was enough to support the team's first half performance as they went on to close out a 16-9 win.

Utica returns to the field on Wednesday, April 7th for a matchup with Sage. Game time is set for 4 p.m.