UTICA, NY - The Utica University men's lacrosse team opens its 2024 season on the road at Oneonta State on Saturday, February 24 at 1 p.m.
 
Last Season: Utica completed the 2023 season 7-10 overall and 3-4 in conference play. Utica was fourth in the league with 189 goals against, fifth in ground balls with 478, and a .742 penalty kill percentage.
 
Season Outlook: The 2024 men's lacrosse season features 17 games, six of them being Empire 8 matchups. The Pioneers open up regular season play at Oneonta State on February 24. For non-conference opponents, the team will face Oneonta State, SUNY Potsdam, Wilkes University, Hamilton College, Vermont State University Castleton, SUNY Canton, Oswego State, Marywood University, SUNY Morrisville and SUNY Brockport. Utica will kick off conference play on March 30 at Nazareth University. The Pioneers will host home games against SUNY Potsdam, Hamilton College, SUNY Morrisville, Alfred University, Keuka College, SUNY Poly and St. John Fisher University. The meeting against SUNY Poly on April 24 will be the Mike Parnell Game. All home games will be played at Gaetano Stadium. Please Note: all dates and times are subject to change.
 
At the Helm: Sean Behan enters his first season with Utica as the head coach. Following his time as Utica's assistant coach from 2015-19, Behan joined Skidmore College's coaching staff where he served as the lead assistant in the 2019 and 2020 seasons. In 2021, Behan earned his first head coaching position at Medaille University where he led the Mavericks through the 2023 season. Behan recently served as the lead assistant coach/defensive coordinator at The College of St. Rose in Albany, NY prior to returning to Utica. Behan will be assisted by Shawn George who is entering his third season and Zach Shaler entering his first.
 
Key Losses: Utica's midfield and defensive unit will be without long-stick midfielder and Captain Zach Shaler, who collected 48 ground balls and caused 16 turnovers over four seasons. The Attack unit will be without Rajveer Singh (Utica, NY/Thomas R. Proctor) and Zach Lawas (Horseheads, NY/Horseheads). At midfield, Utica will be missing faceoff specialist Josh Bennett (Watervliet, NY/Shaker). Bennett finished his Pioneer career with a .468 faceoff percentage over 54 games in five seasons played. He ranks 12th overall in the Utica career record book with 140 ground balls.
 
New Faces: The Pioneers will feature 19 new faces. Attackman Jarrett Sherman (New Hartford, NY/New Hartford), Quinn Orsini (Guilderland, NY/Guilderland), Jack LaFayette (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) and Ryan Considine (Syracuse, NY/West Genesee) look to add depth to an attack unit that combined for 22 goals and 22 assists in the 2023 season. Utica welcomes six new defensemen: Gabe Syrotynski (New Hartford, NY/New Hartford), Jonah Ruthig (Fayetteville, NY/Fayetteville Manlius), Samuel Moskov (Auburn, NY/Auburn), Aaron Bergquist (Brewerton, NY/Central Square), James Morris (Clayton, CA/Clayton Valley Charter) and Colin Musso (Auburn, NY/Auburn). At midfield, the Pioneers have six new contributers: Michael Reid (Tully, NY/Tully), Gabriel Gravino (Red Hook, NY/Red Hook), Lucas Donahue (Burnt Hills, NY/Burnt Hills Ballston Lake), Connor Cooper (Ballston Lake, NY/Burnt Hills Ballston Lake) and Trent Herlehy (Hamburg, NY/Frontier Central). In goal, Max Frenette (Holyoke, MA/Amherst Regional) looks to make an immediate impact. 
 
The Veterans: Ethan Brown (Binghamton, NY/Chenango Forks) and Chase Rorick (Honeoye Falls, NY/Honeoye Falls-Lima) on defense and Sam Serrano (Stone Ridge, NY/Roundout Valley) at attack look to lead Utica in their respective units in the 2024 season. Brown earned second all-conference honors in 2023 after earning third-team honors in 2022. Brown has been a premier defender over his last three seasons, locking down the opponent's top attackers. His communication skills on the field has guided Utica to many wins and has set the standard for the Pioneer defense to play physical and sound. Brown accumulated 55 ground balls, with 30 caused turnovers, two goals, and one assist last season. Not only is Brown an asset on defense, but he is an absolute menace in the clearing game where he will clear the ball himself almost every time. Rorick picked up  30 ground balls in 15 out of 17 games and 12 caused turnovers. Serrano looks to spark the offense right away after leading the team with 23 goals and 14 assists. He collected a goal in 14 out of 17 games in 2023.
 
Welcome Back: Connor Costanza (Deer Park, NY/Deer Park) leads an experienced midfield unit in 2024. In two seasons, Costanza has 37 goals, 20 assists, 52 shots on goal and 23 ground balls. In 2022, as a freshman, Costanza received Empire 8 All-Conference Midfielder. He is Utica's top dodger as a midfielder where he consistently draws an early slide from opposing teams. John Spoto (Pittsford, NY/Pittsford Mendon) is another big piece for Utica's offense as he posted 21 goals in 17 games as Utica's primary scorer. Spoto uses his size to get up field and draws an immediate slide whenever he gets above goal line extended.
 
Between the Pipes: The Pioneers welcome back all three goaltenders from the 2023 season. Jake Bowen (Williston, VT/Champlain Valley Union), Owen Mix (Henrietta, NY/Rush Henrietta) and Patrick Oswald (Deer Park, NY/Deer Park). Oswald started in 13 out of 14 games, recording a 6-7 overall record. He ranked fourth in the Empire 8 with both a .521 save percentage and an 11.82 goals-against average. His most saves in a game came against Castleton University where he registered 18. Bowen started in three games, posting a 1-3 record. He recorded a .496 save percentage and 60 saves while Mix posted a .500 save percentage.
 
Oneonta Scout: The Oneonta Red Dragons enter the 2024 season after finishing 7-7 overall and 3-4 in the SUNYAC. The Red Dragons were led by freshman attackman Jamie O'Neil, who led Oneonta in every major stat. He posted 54 goals, 17 assists, 80 shots on goal and six man-up goals in 14 games. O'Neil scored a goal in every game in 2023 with his most coming against Greensboro College and Methodist College where he scored six. Junior midfielder Matthew Krieg was second on Oneonta with 40 points (17g, 23a), followed by senior midfielder Sam Haita with 17 goals and nine assists. In goal, Harrison Boukas started 13 out of 14 games in 2023, going 6-6 and registering a .542 save percentage. Boukas tallied 189 saves, with his most against Hamilton College where he grabbed a career high of 27.
 
Looking Ahead: Utica faces SUNY Potsdam in its home opener on Wednesday, February 28 at 4 p.m. This is the first meeting since the 2021 season where Utica defeated Potsdam 11-8.