UTICA, NY - The Utica University men's lacrosse team will look to bounce back from Tuesday's home loss to Hamilton College when future Empire 8 opponent Medaille College travels from Buffalo, NY to Charles A. Gaetano Stadium on Monday. Game time is set for 4 p.m.
Follow Along: Live stats and video for the game will be available at
https://portal.stretchinternet.com/utica/
Last Time Out: The last time the Pioneers stepped on the turf the team was bested by Hamilton College 13-5 in the Contineer Cup. Hamilton scored the first three goals of the game while Utica fought back, scoring two goals late in the first to get within striking distance after one quarter of play. The second quarter was all Hamilton putting in five straight goals to take control of the game. The Pioneers were led by Senior captain
John Avery (Pittsford, NY/Pittsford-Mendon) who had two goals.
Kevin Parisi (Glenwood, NJ/Vernon Township),
Connor Costanza (Deer Park, NY/Deer Park ), and
Sam Serrano (Stone Ridge, NY/Roundout Valley) also put in one goal apiece for Utica.
Fire in the Hole: Through two games,
John Avery (Pittsford, NY/Pittsford-Mendon) finds himself as the Empire 8 leader in shots per game, averaging 10 over Utica's first two games. With that, the senior leads the team with five points coming off of three goals and two assists.
Sophomore Sensation: Sam Serrano (Stone Ridge, NY/Roundout Valley) has come on strong to begin his second season with the team. The attackman has netted four goals through two games, including three in the season opening win against SUNY poly, and owns a 75 percent shot on goal percentage. His nine shots on net leads the Pioneers while his 12 total shots rank second on the team.
Defensive Menace: On the defensive end
Kevin Parisi (Glenwood, NJ/Vernon Township) has been leading the pack for the Pioneers. In the first two games of the season he has led the team in caused turnovers and has had a healthy contribution scooping up ground balls. These are two stats in which he ranks top-5 in the E8 and in the caused turnover department he ranks 10th in Division III.
Goodspeed, Good Saves: Goalie John Goodspeed is off to an outstanding start in his first season as the team's starting goalkeeper. In every statistical goalie category Goodspeed ranks top-5 in the Empire 8. This includes goals against average, save percentage, and saves per game which he leads the conference in with an average of 18 per outing. Against Hamilton, Goodspeed had an impressive day, recording a career high of 22 saves.
Familiar Faces: Medaille head coach Sean Behan and assistant coach Tom Byrne both have ties to Utica University and the men's lacrosse program. Behan and Byrne both played under Mike Parnell as Behan played in 64 games as a Pioneer as a defenseman and long stick midfielder, accumulating 25 groundballs and 20 turnovers to go along with three goals on four shots over his four-year career. Behan returned to Utica post graduation to coach under Parnell from 2015-19. Byrne was a three-time All-Conference selection and he ranks third in the program's career record book with 264 ground balls to his credit.
Scouting Medaille: Medaille will come to Utica with an 0-2 record on the early season, suffering road losses to Alfred University (22-0) and to Thiel College (19-4). The bright spots for the Mavericks have been goalie Martin Romero, who ranks 4th in the E8 in saves per game, and Kyle Durwald, who leads the team with two goals. All-time Utica is 4-0 against Medaille including a 14-13 win in the last meeting between the programs in 2011.
What's Up Next: The Pioneers will have a busy week after they face Medaille on Monday, starting with a 7 p.m. Wednesday night contest at Neumann University. This will be Utica's first away game of the season.
