UTICA, NY - Men's lacrosse falls in their opening conference game 15-8 to the Nazareth Golden Flyers on Saturday afternoon.
 
Ryan Considine (Syracuse, NY/West Genesee) led Utica with three points off two assists and one goal. Lucas Donahue (Burnt Hills, NY/Burnt Hills Ballston Lake) (two goals), Noah Erickson (Auburn, NY/Auburn) (one goal and one assist), Michael Reid (Tully, NY/Tully) (one assist), Quinn Orsisni (one goal), Andrew Sacco (New Haven, CT/North Haven) (one goal), Aaron Bergquist (Brewerton, NY/Central Square) (one goal) and Ryan Hollenbeck (Baldwinsville, NY/Charles W. Baker) (one goal).
 
Patrick Oswald (Deer Park, NY/Deer Park) made eight saves on the afternoon and had one of his best performances this season.

 Sacco was ferocious with his long pole, posting two caused turnovers and six ground balls.
 
The Golden Flyers completed the first quarter with a 2-1 lead. Orsini scored Utica's lone goal in the quarter on a beautiful shot with an assist credited to Erickson. Oswald made multiple saves on the doorstep and played great positionally, coming away with four saves.
 
Both teams combined for six goals in the second quarter, four for Nazareth and two for Utica.
 
The third quarter saw each team notch four goals. The Pioneers had a huge boost in momentum when they scored back-to-back tallies from Bergquist and Donahue.
 
Nazareth outscored Utica 9-5 in the fourth quarter.
 
Utica (3-5, 0-1 Empire 8) heads to Rochester, NY for an Empire 8 battle with St. John Fisher University on Wednesday, April 2 at 4 p.m.