UTICA, NY- The Utica University men's lacrosse team hits the field for the first time this season as it hosts cross-town rival SUNY Poly at Charles A. Gaetano Stadium on Wednesday at 4:30 p.m.
 
Follow Along: Live video and stats for all Utica home games are available at portal.stretchinternet.com/utica/. 
 
Looking Back: The 2021 season resulted in the Pioneers finishing with a 5-1 (2-1 Empire 8) overall record, in a season where three of the nine games were canceled. In the six games the team played, they scored at least eight goals in every game and were 5-0 when they scored nine or more goals. Utica outscored opponents 73-50.
 
Schedule at a Glance: The 2022 men's lacrosse season features 16 regular season matchups, including six of them against Empire 8 Conference foes. The Pioneers open up regular season play in a non-conference game against cross-town rival SUNY Poly on March 2, a team Utica University is 12-1 all-time against. For non-conference opponents, the team will face Medaille College, Hamilton College, Moravian University, Neumann University, Castleton University, SUNY Oswego, Wilkes University, Kean University and the University of Scranton. Utica's conference schedule features familiar foes Russell Sage College, Keuka College, St. John Fisher College, Hartwick College, Alfred University and Nazareth College with its first league battle coming at Sage on April 6. The regular season will also conclude on the road at Nazareth on April 30 while the conference tournament is set to begin on May 4. 
 
On the Sidelines: Interim Head Men's Coach Justin Patterson will be on the sidelines for the first time as head coach of the Pioneers. Patterson was named an assistant coach for the men's lacrosse team in the Summer of 2019, and has been with the program ever since. Prior to Utica, Patterson was the full-time offensive coordinator for Adrian College. He also had a brief stint at NCAA Division II Assumption College and spent time on the sidelines for fellow Empire 8 Conference member Houghton College. As a player for Long Island University Post (formerly known as CW Post) in NCAA Division II, Patterson racked up 113 career points on 39 goals and 74 assists, led the Pioneers to a 49-12 record during his tenure and helped LIU Post to the second of back-to-back national championships, scoring one goal and two assists against LeMoyne in the title game of his 2010 freshman campaign. 
 
Wearing The "C": Graduate student Jack O'Shaughnessy (Knoxville, TN/Utica Notre Dame), seniors John Avery (Pittsford, NY/Pittsford-Mendon) and Kevin Parisi (Glenwood, NJ/Vernon Township) and junior Zach Shaler (Utica, NY/Whitesboro) will serve as co-captains this season. O'Shaughnessy has played in 17 games during his four-year Pioneer career, totaling three points (one goal, two assists). Avery has played in 27 games and has started 25 in his Utica career, tallying 58 points (46 goals, 12 assists), while leading the team in goals last season (14). Parisi has started and played in all 27 games of his career, while contributing five points (three goals, two assists) and causing 78 turnovers. Parisi was ranked third in the nation last season in caused turnovers per game (3.83). Shaler is the youngest of the co-captains, as he has only played in seven career games, while forcing four ground balls and creating four turnovers.
 
Pleasantville's Finest James Daniele (Pleasantville, NY/Pleasantville): Senior midfielder James Daniele (Pleasantville, NY/Pleasantville) led all Pioneers last season with 21 points (12 goals, nine assists) in just four games started and six games played. Daniele's 12 goals matched his career high from his first season in a Utica uniform, despite playing 10 less games. In his Pioneer career, Daniele has accumulated 61 total points (31 goals, 30 assists) while playing 27 games and starting 17 of those games. Daniele has finished in the top three in points in each of his three seasons at Utica.
 
Sophomore's Galore: The Utica University men's lacrosse team is filled with underclassmen depth. Out of the 35 men on the roster, 21 of them are underclassmen including 14 sophomores. As a freshman last season, Chase Kaufman (Atlanta, GA/Riverside Military Academy) led all underclassmen with 12 points, which was fifth best on the team, and his 11 goals were good enough for third best. Other freshmen who are returning that recorded points for the Pioneers last season include Nick Litzenberger (Freeville, NY/Cortland) (five goals, one assist) and Sam Serrano (Stone Ridge, NY/Roundout Valley) (one assist). 
 
Between the Pipes: Sophomore goaltender Jon Goodspeed (Binghamton, NY/Chenango Forks) is the only returning goaltender from last season, as he was the backup to three-time Empire 8 Goaltender of the Week, Jozef Korpics (Center Valley, PA/Moravian Academy). In one game played, Goodspeed made one save in the team's 16-9 win over Keuka College. Freshmen Patrick Oswald (Deer Park, NY/Deer Park ) and Owen Mix (Henrietta, NY/Rush Henrietta) make up the other two netminders on the Pioneers' roster. 
 
Young but Experienced: Although the majority of the men's lacrosse team is made up of freshmen and sophomores, the roster also has experience. Seniors John Avery (Pittsford, NY/Pittsford-Mendon), James Daniele (Pleasantville, NY/Pleasantville) and Kevin Parisi (Glenwood, NJ/Vernon Township) have all played in each of the 27 games for the Pioneers since their freshman season in 2018-2019. In those 27 career games, Avery, Daniele and Parisi have combined for 80 goals, 44 assists, 124 points, 179 ground balls and 105 caused turnovers.
 
About Poly: The Wildcats will carry an 0-1 overall mark into Wednesday evening's battle at Gaetano Stadium after a season-opening 14-6 loss to SUNY Potsdam on February 26. Poly held an early 2-1 lead before a six-goal Potsdam second quarter put the team in a hole it could not climb out of. Six different players netted a goal for Poly in the game, mostly from experienced graduate students and seniors. 

Looking Ahead: Utica will play its second of four straight home games to open the season at 1 p.m. on March 5 against Medaille.