UTICA, NY - The Utica University men's lacrosse team hosts SUNY Morrisville on Tuesday, March 26 at 4 p.m. before traveling to Nazareth University to open league play on Friday, March 29 at 5 p.m.
 
Follow Along: SUNY Morrisville live video and live stats. Nazareth University live video and live stats.
 
Last Time Out: The team fell to the SUNY Oswego Lakers 13-4 on March 21. Four different players tallied one goal and Aaron Bergquist (Brewerton, NY/Central Square) had a monster day, picking up seven ground balls and one caused turnover. Sam Serrano (Stone Ridge, NY/Rondout Valley) extends his point streak to 21 games, dating back to March 25, 2023. Serrano, Ryan Considine (Syracuse, NY/West Genesee), Caiden Frey (Accord, NY/Rondout Valley), and Hayden Sachel (Fulton, NY/G. Ray Bodley) had one goal each. Noah Erickson (Auburn, NY/Auburn) tallied the only assist on the evening along with three shots. Patrick Oswald (Deer Park, NY/Deer Park) made 16 saves with his most coming in the third quarter, posting seven. Jack Hogan (Lindenhurst, NY/Lindenhurst) went eight for 19 from the faceoff X. Hogan had a great second half, winning six compared to Oswego's four. Utica jumped out to an early 1-0 lead with 13:51 to play as Caiden Frey (Accord, NY/Rondout Valley) found the back of the net. Both teams were trading blows throughout the first quarter as Oswego would answer back with 5:49 to play evening the game at one apiece. Sachel would collect a goal just under four minutes to play giving Utica a 2-1 lead. Oswego would score three goals in the last three minutes sending them into the second quarter up 4-2. The Lakers scored the only two goals in the second quarter as they would head into halftime up 6-2. Oswego and Utica combined for 17 shots in the second, nine for Oswego and eight for Utica. Considine put Utica on the board two minutes into the third quarter cutting the lead to 6-3, Oswego. The Lakers scored two goals at the 11:12 mark and 9:07 mark extending the lead to 8-3. Serrano tallied a goal for Utica with 7:27 to play off a feed from Erickson making it a 8-4 game. Oswego scored two goals in the last six minutes and the Lakers would end the third quarter up 10-4. Oswego scored three goals in the fourth quarter as they would go on and win 13-4.
 
Spreading the Wealth: Against SUNY Oswego on March 21, four different players notched a goal. Sam Serrano (Stone Ridge, NY/Rondout Valley), Ryan Considine (Syracuse, NY/West Genesee), Caiden Frey (Accord, NY/Rondout Valley) and Hayden Sachel (Fulton, NY/G. Ray Bodley) each scored one goal for Utica along with Noah Erickson's (Auburn, NY/Auburn) assist. Serrano has 21 consecutive games with at least one point dating back to March 25, 2023, and Considine has seven points in three straight games (6g, 1a).
 
Wing Play: Michael Mecca (Oceanside, NY/Oceanside) and Andrew Sacco (New Haven, CT/North Haven) have been looking dominant as of late causing havoc between the restraining box on faceoffs. Mecca and Sacco stand in the top five on Utica in ground balls and caused turnovers. Mecca has 17 ground balls and four caused turnovers and Sacco has 14 ground balls and eight caused turnovers.
 
The Enforcer: Patrick Oswald (Deer Park, NY/Deer Park) has looked lights out ever since the team fell to Hamilton on March 5. Against Oswego on March 21 he made 15 saves while allowing 12 goals on 49 shots. He ranks in the top four in league play in both save percentage (.544)  and goals against average (10.67).
 
Faceoff Specialist: Jack Hogan (Lindenhurst, NY/Lindenhurst) looks impressive this season, ranking fourth in conference play, winning .512 percent of his faceoffs. Hogan has 28 ground balls, which is the best on the team and top seven in the Empire 8.
 
Defensive Production: Aaron Bergquist (Brewerton, NY/Central Square) had seven ground balls against Oswego, the most in his career. He tied Hogan with the most collected by a single player on the roster in one game this season. Ethan Brown (Binghamton, NY/Chenango Forks) continues to stay consistent throughout his Utica career as he's registered a ground ball in five out of seven games and caused a turnover in six out of seven games this season. His 13 caused turnovers rank second in league play, averaging almost two per game which is top 50 nationally in NCAA Division III.
 
Scouting Morrisville: The SUNY Morrisville Mustangs are 1-5 overall with no NAC games played yet. The team is coming off a 13-3 victory over Marywood University on March 20. Fifth-year attackman Zach Nestor led the team with three goals, two assists and seven ground balls. Nestor leads Morrisville with 10 goals, seven assists, 28 shots on goal and three man-up goals. Freshman attackman Kyan Dohn is the team's second-leading point producer with four goals and six assists. Sophomore defenseman Daniel Squires leads the Mustangs with 29 ground balls and 10 caused turnovers. Sophomore faceoff specialist Michael Avgenikos has a .375 face-off percentage (42 for 112) along with scooping up 18 ground balls. In net is sophomore Nathan Weise sports a .453 save percentage and an 0-4 record. Freshman Gabe Matthews has seen time between the pipes as well where he's collected one win, a .580 save percentage and a .933 goals-against average in three games played. Utica and Morrisville have played twice, once in 2015 and in 2023. Utica defeated Morrisville 5-4 in 2015 and last season Morrisville took down Utica, 10-6.

Nazareth Scout: The Nazareth University Golden Flyers are 6-3 overall and no Empire 8 games played yet. The team is on a three-game winning streak dating against SUNY Brockport (21-8), Ohio Northern (16-9) and Western New England (14-7). Quinn McKercher leads Nazareth with 34 points (25g, 9a). Matthew Farrington and Quinn Conroy lead with 14 assists each. Farrington has 13 goals and four man-up goals for 27 points. Faceoff specialist Jakob Dankenberger has a .397 save percentage (77-194). In goal is sophomore McLean Ralston sports a 6-3 record, .562 save percentage and 10.51 goals against average.
 
Up Next: Utica travels to Oneonta, NY to face Hartwick University on Wednesday, April 3 at 4 p.m.