UTICA, NY - The Utica University men's lacrosse team readies for two conference matchups against St. John Fisher University and Keuka College. The team travels to Fisher on Wednesday, April 2 (4pm) and on Saturday, April 5 at 1 p.m., Utica welcomes Keuka to Charles A. Gaetano Stadium.
 
Follow Along: Fisher video link and live stats. Keuka video link and live stats.
 
Last Time Out: Men's lacrosse falls in their opening conference game 15-8 to the Nazareth Golden Flyers on March 29. 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.
 
Numbers Don't Lie: After a successful First Year season, Sophomore Ryan Considine (Syracuse, NY/West Genesee) is already back to doing what he does best. He has tallied 17 goals and 14 assists this year, best for second in league play. He is currently 8th in the conference for goals scored and 2nd in the conference for total assists. Last season, Considine was awarded with Third-Team Attack honors as he led the Pioneers with 27 goals. This season, his best performance thus far was against Castleton, where he tallied six goals and four assists. Considine will surely be looking forward to Saturday's game. In the team's last matchup against Keuka, he had a stand-out performance, scoring five goals and guiding the Pioneers to a victory. 
 
Getting Comfortable: Newcomer, Ryan Hollenbeck (Baldwinsville, NY/Charles W. Baker) has given a spark to Utica's attack since he's arrived. He is second on the team with 11 goals and first on the team with two game-winning goals. Hollenbeck has posted a point in seven out of eight games and has scored seven goals in his team's last three games against Canton, Morrisville and Nazareth. Nolan Shea (Williston, VT/Champlain Valley Union) has been a factor as the lefty attackman, ranking second on Utica with seven assists. Shea has six points during the Pioneer's last three games (two goals and four assists). Against Nazareth, he totaled eight shots, which was is his season-high
 
Team Defense: Down low, Aaron Bergquist (Brewerton, NY/Central Square), Gianpaul Cooper (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool), Jake Loughlin (Victor, NY/Victor) and Vincent Bernardo (Ossining, NY/Ossining) have combined for 61 ground balls and 20 caused turnovers. All four defenders have proven to be a difference maker for the Pioneer defense as they've each made timely plays in all seven games.
 
Threat to Score: Bergquist has been a force clearing the ball as of late. Both of his goals against Oswego and Nazareth came during transition opportunities where the opposing players left him unattended. Andrew Sacco (New Haven, CT/North Haven) leads Utica with 27 ground balls, the majority of them off the faceoff. Sacco also has a team-leading 10-caused turnovers, which have all come in the last four games played. 
 
St. John Fisher Scout: The Cardinals are currently 5-4 overall, and 1-0 in conference play. In their last game, Fisher played Russell Sage and had an overwhelming 23-2 victory in their first conference game of the year. The Cardinal's offense is led by senior Ethan Kesselring, who has already logged 14 goals and four assists for the team, tallying a total of 18 points. Senior Brady Mason has also been a stand-out player for the Cardinals as he has scored 13 goals and has dished out 9 assists making him the team's point leader with 22 points. Tyler Manning has been Fisher's go-to guy between the sticks as he has appeared in nine games and has a record of 5-3. Manning has tallied a total of 88 saves and currently has a .533 save percentage. 
 
Keuka College Scout: The Wolves are 3-4 overall and 0-1 in conference play. Their first conference matchup of the year was against Suny Poly, where the Wildcats came out on top 18-11. Sophomore Harrison Root is leading the team in points with a total of 22 goals, with just under 60 percent of his shots being on target. First Year, Mitchell Wise has started his career off hot as he has tallied 15 goals and six assists on the year. First Year Goaltender Jaxson Tucker has also had an impressive start to his collegiate career as he has appeared in seven games, tallying 76 saves.  Utica has not lost to the Wolves since the 2018 season. The last time the Pioneers faced off against the Wolves, Utica came out on top 16-10. Ryan Considine (Syracuse, NY/West Genesee) made a statement in that game, as he led the team with 10 points, logging five goals and five assists in his first year as a Pioneer. 
 
Looking Ahead: Utica hosts SUNY Poly on Wednesday, April 9 at 4 p.m.