UTICA, NY - The Utica College men's lacrosse team hits the road on Saturday, April 10, as they continue Empire 8 conference play at Alfred University. Game time is set for 1 p.m. at Yunevich Stadium. 

Follow Along: Live video and stats for Saturday's game will be made available at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/alfred/. 

Last Time Out: The Pioneers saw a fairly even match in the first half of Wednesday's game against visiting Russell Sage College. Utica went into halftime leading 8-7, after neither team took more than a two-goal lead all first half. After some halftime adjustments, the Pioneers came back to outscore the Gators 8-2 in the second half to earn a 16-9 win. The scoring was widely distributed, as three players had hat tricks, and eight players in total found the back of the net - James Daniele (Pleasantville, NY/Pleasantville) (three goals), John Avery (Pittsford, NY/Pittsford-Mendon) (three goals), Chase Kaufman (Atlanta, GA/Riverside Military Academy ) (three goals), Nick Litzenberger (Freeville, NY/Cortland) (two goals), and Gage Fiacco (Massena, NY/Massena) (two goals) had multi-goal efforts, while Jacob Hyer (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro), Dale Wagner (Elbridge, NY/Jordan Elbridge), and Dylan Dunham (Elbridge, NY/Jordan Elbridge) had a goal apiece. Four players picked up assists on the day - Daniele (three), Wagner (two), Dunham, and Kaufman. 

The Streak Continues: With another win under their belt, the Pioneers improve to 4-0 (2-0 Empire 8). This marks just the second time in program history that they started their season 4-0. The last time was in 2004. 

Daniele Hits The Target: Junior midfielder James Daniele (Pleasantville, NY/Pleasantville) led the team on Wednesday with three goals and three assists for six points on the day. He picked up the assist on the first goal of the day, off John Avery (Pittsford, NY/Pittsford-Mendon), to get his 50th career point. Daniele scored his first quarter late in the first period on a man-up, assisted by Dale Wagner (Elbridge, NY/Jordan Elbridge). Daniele went on to score twice in a span of 80 seconds late in the fourth quarter to help Utica overcome a three minute penalty and preserve a wider margin of victory. He is currently 2nd on the team with 15 points on eight goals and seven assists. Daniele is also 4th in the conference for assists per game(1.75), and 5th for points per game(3.75). 

Kaufman Continues: Freshman attacker Chase Kaufman (Atlanta, GA/Riverside Military Academy ) continued to impress with another hat trick for the second game in a row. He also picked up an assist, for four points on the day. Kaufman averaged one point per quarter on Wednesday, after scoring goals in the first and second quarters, picking up an assist in the third, and scoring again in the fourth. Wagner and Dunham each assisted on a goal. Kaufman currently has seven goals and one assist for eight points. 

They Come In Threes: Junior attacker John Avery (Pittsford, NY/Pittsford-Mendon) was one of three Utica players to record a hat trick during Wednesday's game against Sage. Avery scored the opening goal in the first 2 minutes of the game. Avery went on to score once more in both the third and fourth quarters. Avery has 11 goals and three assists for 13 points, putting him at 3rd on the team board. He has picked up 10 ground balls and caused three turnovers. Avery leads the conference in shots per game(10.75), is 6th in goals per game(2.75), and 9th in points per game(3.25).

Up Next: The Pioneers kick off a five-game homestand on Tuesday as they host SUNY Potsdam.