UTICA, NY - The Utica University men's lacrosse team hosts SUNY Potsdam in the team's home opener on Wednesday, February 26 at 4 p.m. The Pioneers travel to Wilkes University on Saturday, March 2 at 1 p.m.
 
Follow Along: Wednesday's live stream against and live stats can be found here. Saturday's live stream against Wilkes can be found here and live stats can be located here.
 
Last Time Out: The Utica University men's lacrosse team dropped its first game to the Oneonta State Red Dragons 11-5 on Sunday afternoon. Both teams combined for 79 shots, 40 from Oneonta and 39 from Utica. The Pioneers won the ground ball battle, 38-23 and went 12-18 from the faceoff X. Sam Serrano (Stone Ridge, NY/Roundout Valley) (3g, 0a) and Ryan Considine (Syracuse, NY/West Genesee) (2g, 0a) were Utica's top point producers. Considine also tied with Jack Hogan (Lindenhurst, NY/Lindenhurst) for a team-high six ground balls. Caiden Frey (Accord, NY/Roundout Valley) and Connor Costanza (Deer Park, NY/Deer Park) collected one assist each. Seven different players had at least one shot on net. Patrick Oswald (Deer Park, NY/Deer Park) started in net for Utica posting 17 saves and a .607 save percentage. Oswald had an incredible first half where he collected 13 saves, nine in the first quarter and four in the second. Jack Hogan (Lindenhurst, NY/Lindenhurst) had an excellent first half, winning seven out of nine from the faceoff dot with four ground balls. Utica and Oneonta played a very contested first quarter with both teams combining for 24 shots, 15 for Oneonta and nine for Utica. Utica's Jack Hogan (Lindenhurst, NY/Lindenhurst) won the opening faceoff which resulted in a great scoring opportunity for Caiden Frey (Accord, NY/Roundout Valley) who fired a shot from the wing, but Red Dragon goaltender Harrison Boukas was there to turn it away. At 11:29, Oneonta put the first goal on the board from Thomas Hnis to give the Red Dragons a 1-0 lead. About four minutes later, Considine scored his first career collegiate goal. Considine used his big frame to get in front of his defender where he capitalized to even the game at one. At 6:23 in the first, Oneonta's Evan Kelly scored off a Jamie O'Neil assist giving the Red Dragons a 2-1 advantage, followed by a Matthew Krieg goal at 3:14 to extend the lead to 3-1. On the ensuing faceoff, Hogan would give the Pioneers another offensive possession which resulted in a Serrano goal with 2:29 left in the quarter. Both teams would battle through the last two minutes, with Oneonta heading into the second up 3-2. The second quarter saw three goals scored and six penalties. With 13:08 in the second quarter, O'Neil would collect his second goal for Oneonta giving the team a 4-2 lead. Oneonta would go man-up with 6:36 on the clock off an Ethan Brown (Binghamton, NY/Chenango Forks) slashing penalty. 15 seconds into the penalty, Hnis notched his second goal with an assist from Kreig, Red Dragons would go up 5-2. At 2:58 in the second, Oneonta's Vincent Tirino assisted Anthony Munro who tallied his first goal as Oneonta would extend its lead to 6-2. Entering the third quarter, Oneonta would score two goals in the first six minutes of action. Serrano answered with a goal of his own with 11:09 left to play. Caiden Frey (Accord, NY/Roundout Valley) fed Serrano who scored from nearly 20 yards out, cutting the lead to 8-3. The Red Dragons answered back off a Daniel Macchiarella goal, and Oneonta would go up 9-3. With 9:11 left to play, Serrano recorded his third goal, cutting the lead to 9-4. At 4:52, Utica freshman Aaron Bergquist (Brewerton, NY/Central Square) made a great defensive play, causing a turnover and going coast-to-coast, but Boukas was there to make the save. Utica would head into the fourth quarter down 9-4. Three goals were scored in the fourth quarter, two from Oneonta and one from Utica. Considine scored his second goal of the afternoon with 2:46 left to play with an assist credited to Costanza. The Red Dragons would hold on and win 11-5.
 
Shoot Em Down: The attackmen duo of Sam Serrano (Stone Ridge, NY/Roundout Valley) and Ryan Considine (Syracuse, NY/West Genesee) combined for all five goals against Oneonta State. Considine got Utica on the board first using his body to get in front of his defender. Not only was he an asset on the scoreboard, but he also picked up six ground balls, which was a team-high and ranks him third in the Empire 8. Serrano picked up three goals of his own, which puts him on a 10-game goal-scoring streak dating back to March 5, 2023.
 
Clampin' Down: Faceoff specialist Jack Hogan (Lindenhurst, NY/Lindenhurst) had one of the best performances of his career, going 12 of 18 and winning seven of nine in the first half. He currently stands third in the Empire 8 with a .667 faceoff percentage. 
 
Oswald the Wall: Patrick Oswald (Deer Park, NY/Deer Park) looked poised and confident between the pipes against Oneonta. Oswald made 17 saves with 13 coming in the first half. Oswald helped the team to a 71 percent clearing percentage while going seven for 10 in the first half and five for seven in the second.
 
Scouting Potsdam: The SUNY Potsdam Bears enter Wednesday's matchup 0-1 overall and 0-0 in the SUNYAC with its most recent loss to No. 15 St. Lawrence. The team is coming off a 7-8 2023 season and 1-6 in league play. The Bears are returning graduate student Attackmen Peyton Walsh who had 49 goals, 13 assists and 112 shots on goal in 2023. He collected a point in every game last season except for one which was against SUNY Geneseo where he had seven shots on goal. Currently, in 2024, he has one goal on three shots on goal. The Walsh brothers are Potsdam's top point producers as Peyton's brother Owen leads Potsdam with two goals and one assist. Against St. Lawrence, Liam O'Neil started in net. He let up eight goals in 15 minutes while posting two saves. Saka Thompson came in for O'Neil with 45 minutes left and had a fantastic outing. He had 11 saves and 10 goals against.
 
About Wilkes: The Wilkes University Colonels are 0-1 overall and 0-0 in the Landmark Conference. Wilkes lost its first game to Manhattanville College, 14-8. The team is coming off a 4-13 2023 season and was led by attackmen Colby Opromolla, who posted 18 goals, 18 assists and 39 shots on goal. In 2024, Opromolla and Austin Sosnovik lead the Colonels with three goals and one assist. Joseph Marino started the first game of 2024 for Wilkes, collecting 18 saves and a .563 save percentage.
 
Up Next: Utica hosts Hamilton College on Tuesday, March 5 at 5 p.m.