UTICA, NY - The Utica University men's lacrosse team will play their next home game against Hartwick College on Wednesday, then the team plays Medaille University on Saturday, April 1 which is Senior Day along with the second annual Mike Parnell Game. 
 
Follow Along: Those who cannot attend the home games can follow along with live video and/or stats at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/utica/.
 
Last Time Out: Sam Serrano (Stone Ridge, NY/Roundout Valley) led the charge for Utica with two goals on the afternoon. Connor Costanza (Deer Park, NY/Deer Park) and Noah Erickson (Auburn, NY/Auburn) each found the back of the net in the contest. Evan Grobsmith (Elbridge, NY/Wilbraham & Monson Academy) tallied his first collegiate point as he dished out an assist on Serrano's second goal.In net, Patrick Oswald (Deer Park, NY/Deer Park) saw the majority of time and made 12 saves while Jake Bowen (Williston, VT/Champlain Valley Union) played the final four minutes and change of the game. The Cardinals jumped out to a 4-0 lead before Erickson scored the first Pioneer goal at the 3:15 mark in the first quarter. The goal gave Utica some momentum as the team scored two of the next five goals and trailed 7-3 with 11:46 left to go in the first half. Fisher grabbed momentum and scored the next 10 goals of the contest including taking a 12-3 edge into halftime. At the 3:27 mark of the fourth quarter Serrano scored his second goal of the game off a fine pass from Grobsmith. The Cardinals tallied on one more goal to win the game 18-4.
 
Senior Send Off: Prior to Saturday's game, the Utica men's lacrosse program will honor Josh Bennett (Watervliet, NY/Shaker), Zach Shaler (Utica, NY/Whitesboro), Zach Lawas (Horseheads, NY/Horseheads) and Rajveer Singh (Utica, NY/Thomas R. Proctor), who are all competing in their final seasons with the team. 
 
Parnell Game: On Saturday against Medaille University the Utica lacrosse family will celebrate the life of men's Head Coach Mike Parnell. Coach Parnell passed away unexpectedly on December 2, 2021, while his legacy and impact on the Utica lacrosse family and Utica University will always be remembered. This is the second year of honoring Coach Parnell and a tradition that began in the 2022 season, the same season in which his No. 6 jersey was retired. Parnell served as the Head Men's Lacrosse Coach at Utica for 16 seasons following his playing career at Utica. 
 
Attacking trio: The attack trio of Sam Serrano (Stone Ridge, NY/Roundout Valley), John Spoto (Pittsford, NY/Pittsford Mendon) and Nolan Shea (Williston, VT/Champlain Valley Union) have been leading the way for an offense that scored 14 goals against Sage and four against Fisher. Serrano and Spoto scored three times against Sage while Serrano had two helpers as well. Shea finished the game with one goal. Serrano and Spoto scored the first three goals against the Gators to give the Pioneers momentum throughout the contest and finish with a win. Serrano scored the third goal for the Pioneers against Fisher to keep the team within four early in the second quarter. The trio has combined for 47 goals and 15 assists while each of them have scored in at least one game. 
 
D-Fence: Zach Shaler (Utica, NY/Whitesboro), Ethan Brown (Binghamton, NY/Chenango Forks) and Michael Mecca (Oceanside, NY/Oceanside) have been making their presence felt on the defensive end of the field. The three players combined for 24 ground balls over the last two matchups against Sage and Fisher. Shaler had a solid performance against the Gators after being in-and-out due to an injury. He collected four ground balls and caused two turnovers in an overall great team performance. Brown held Sage's top point contributor, Bailey Martin to one goal. Brown also scooped up three ground balls and had one caused turnover while scooping up a season high eight ground balls against the Cardinals. His 45 ground balls this season, puts him over his season total from 2022 where he grabbed 43. Mecca has been a great addition to the Utica defensive midfield picking up seven ground balls, two assists and one caused turnover in two games. The Penalty-killing unit leads the Empire 8 with 13 goals against on 60 attempts, with a .783 man-down percentage. 
 
Faceoff Squad: Winning the face-off has been a key aspect to the Pioneers' offense. Josh Bennet, Jack Hogan (Lindenhurst, NY/Lindenhurst) and Zach Lawas (Horseheads, NY/Horseheads) won 22 faceoffs against Sage's five. Bennet led the group, going 16-for-19 and racking up seven ground balls which is a season-high. Hogan went 4-for-5 and scooped up three, while Lawas went 2-for-3 and one ground ball. Against Fisher, the trio won six faceoffs and totaled two ground balls. 
 
Scouting Hartwick: The Hartwick Hawks are 4-3 overall and 2-1 in the Empire 8. The team is on a two-game winning streak beating Russell Sage College 17-10 and Keuka College 20-4. Pete Conley leads the team with 20 goals and 13 assists. He recorded five points against Sage and eight points versus Keuka. Against Utica last season, he dished out five assists and scored one goal. Conley is second in the conference with 2.86 goals per game. Garret Frost is second on the team with 20 points followed by Shayne Kerrigan (17) and Evan Johanns (13). Daniel Beltran is second in the Empire 8 in faceoffs with a .594 faceoff percentage and third in the conference in ground balls with 59. Kyle McKee is the goalkeeper with a .566 save percentage and sits third in the conference with 12.29 saves per game. 
 
Scouting Medaille: The Medaille University Mavericks are 1-7 overall with a 0-2 Empire 8 record. Colton Keane leads the way with 14 goals and one assist. He scored two goals against Sage on nine shots. Prior to their game against Fisher, he scored in the five previous contests. Matt Kennedy is second on the team with six goals and seven assists. Colton Powers is in net with a .502 save percentage and leads the Empire 8 in saves per game with 14.38. Ladin Piniweski has collected 29 ground balls and 14 caused turnovers which ranks third in the Empire 8. 
 
Up Next: The team will travel to Keuka College (4-4, 0-3 Empire 8) on Saturday, April 22 at 1 p.m.