UTICA, NY -The Utica University men's lacrosse team is set to host the University of Scranton Royals at 4 p.m. on Wednesday for the team's last non-conference battle of the season.
Follow Along: Live stats and video for Saturday's game can be found at
https://portal.stretchinternet.com/utica/
Last Time Out: Utica jumped out to an early lead against Keuka College and never let its foot off the petal en route to a 10-4 victory over the Wolves. Utica used five first quarter goals from
Gage Fiacco (Massena, NY/Massena) (2),
John Avery (Pittsford, NY/Pittsford-Mendon),
James Daniele (Pleasantville, NY/Pleasantville) and
Connor Costanza (Deer Park, NY/Deer Park ) to take a 5-2 lead, with Fiacco's second goal ending up being the game winner for the Pioneers. Costanza added another goal and assist for Utica, while
Caiden Frey (Accord, NY/Roundout Valley) finished the game with two goals and one assist and
Sam Serrano (Stone Ridge, NY/Roundout Valley) and
Chase Kaufman (Atlanta, GA/Riverside Military Academy) each had a goal. Goaltender
Jon Goodspeed (Binghamton, NY/Chenango Forks) finished the game with 12 saves, to earn his sixth win of the season.
E8 Goaltender of the Week: Utica sophomore
Jon Goodspeed (Binghamton, NY/Chenango Forks) was named Empire 8 Goaltender of the Week. Goodspeed totaled 26 saves in a pair of conference wins for Utica against Sage and Keuka. In Wednesday's 11-10 victory against Sage, he turned aside 14 shots, and he followed that up with 12 more saves in Saturday's 10-4 win against Keuka. On the season, Goodspeed has compiled a .553 save percentage and a 10.18 goals against average.
Ground Ball Frenzy: During the victory against Keuka, Utica totaled 38 ground balls as a team, including six players with five ground balls. Junior
Matt Robinson (Montville, NJ/Montville) and graduate student captain
Jack O'Shaughnessy (Knoxville, TN/Utica Notre Dame) both had career-highs with five ground balls, while seniors
Kevin Parisi (Glenwood, NJ/Vernon Township),
Josh Bennett (Watervliet, NY/Shaker),
Zach Shaler (Utica, NY/Whitesboro) and sophomore
Ethan Brown (Binghamton, NY/Chenango Forks) also contributed five ground balls apiece.
Frey On Fire: Sophomore
Caiden Frey (Accord, NY/Roundout Valley) had his best week as a member of the Utica lacrosse team last week. Frey had one goal against Sage, and two goals and one assist against Keuka for a career-high three points. With just eight points in his young career, Frey has scored half of those points in just the last two games. This season, Frey has also contributed 12 ground balls and nine caused turnovers.
Face-Off Menace: Senior
Josh Bennett (Watervliet, NY/Shaker) has contributed to Utica's success, simply by winning faceoffs. In his last three games, Bennett has won 30 of 49 faceoffs, including winning 77 percent of them in the game against Keuka. Bennett has also won more than half of his faceoffs in five of the last six games, and has won at least 10 faceoffs in four of the last five games.
Scouting Scranton: The Royals are currently 6-5 and are bringing a two-game winning streak into Utica. The team is led by juniors Mitchell Kozak (20 goals, 15 assists) and Chris Crapanzano (24 goals, eight assists), and sophomore Matthew McAree (25 goals, eight assists). Freshman goaltender Evan Rosa is 4-3 on the season and has made 142 saves. Scranton is coming into this game by scoring at least eight goals in every game this season, including averaging 12.64 goals per game. Utica and Scranton have only played one time in program history, where Scranton defeated Utica 15-13 on March 6, 2010.
Looking Ahead: Utica will be at home for the third straight game this Saturday as the team goes up against Empire 8 foe and nationally ranked No. 5 St. John Fisher. Game time against the Cardinals from Charles A. Gaetano Stadium is set for 1 p.m.
