DALLAS, PA - Utica University's men's lacrosse team hit the road to take on the Misericordia University Cougars in the squad's final contest of a three-game road streak. The Pioneers kept pressure on, even outshooting the Cougars 24-16, but the home team pulled out a 9-8 victory. The loss moves Utica to 1-4 on the season, and marks four consecutive games decided by a one-goal difference.

Seven separate Pioneers turned in at least one point, with three different Pioneers netting two goals. Ryan Considine (Syracuse, NY/West Genesee) led the team with two goals and two assists, joined by Quinn Orsini (Guilderland, NY/Guilderland) and Ethan Hunt (Skaneateles, NY/Skaneateles), each of whom scored two goals. Junior defenseman Aaron Bergquist (Brewerton, NY/Central Square) joined Lucas Donahue (Burnt Hills, NY/Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake) in scoring the remaining Pioneer goals. Considine was the only goal scorer to record an assist, joined by Michael Reid (Tully, NY/Tully) with two helpers and Nolan Shea (Williston, VT/Champlain Valley Union) with one. Junior long-stick midfielder Colin Musso (Auburn, NY/Auburn) was the only Pioneer with multiple caused turnovers, recording three. Senior Michael Mecca (Oceanside, NY/Oceanside) led the team with five ground balls, followed closely by Bergquist and faceoff specialist Cade Bourcy (Syracuse, NY/Skaneateles) with four. Sophomore Chase Nappi (Niskayuna, NY/Niskayuna) led Utica, going 10-of-13 at the faceoff X, followed by Bourcy going 5-of-7. Jake Bowen (Williston, VT/Champlain Valley Union) continued to play between the pipes for the orange and blue, making seven saves.

Misericordia scoring followed a similar pattern to Utica's, with three players scoring twice, and three players each scoring once for the remaining three. The multi-goal scoring Cougars consisted of Patrick Dwyer, Jake Louis, and Ty Murawski, with each of Jack Simone, Aiden D'Ambrosio, and Ian Young scoring once. Simone led the squad with four assists, followed by Dwyer with two, and both Louis and D'Ambrosio with one. Goaltender Leyton Sullivan contributed both in and out of the crease, making 16 saves, but also leading the Cougars in caused turnovers (two) and ground balls (five).

D'Ambrosio opened the scoring for the day after 2:32 of play, with an assist from Dwyer. Bergquist responded for the Pioneers with an unassisted goal with 9:57 remaining, netting his first of the season and fourth of his career. His goal stood to be the only Pioneer tally of the frame, as Dwyer netted a goal from Simone with 7:04 left, and Louis netted a goal from Dwyer in the final three seconds. 

After falling behind 3-1 in the opening quarter, the Pioneers quickly worked themselves back into the game, scoring three goals in the first 2:23 of play in the second. Donahue netted a man-up goal from Shea just 12 seconds into the period before Considine sent home a shot 40 seconds later, off an assist by Reid. Considine scored again with 12:37 remaining on an unassisted goal to give Utica its first lead of the day. The 4-3 scoreline did not hold long, as Dwyer responded for Misericordia 57 seconds later, establishing the 4-4 tie that ran into halftime.

The Pioneers struck first in the second half, with Hunt finding the back of the net after 4:20. The lead held for nearly four minutes before two quick Cougar strikes swung momentum to the side of the home team. Young netted a goal with 6:46 left in the frame before Louis added another 16 seconds later, both off assists by Simone. Neither team scored over the final 6:30, allowing Misericordia to enter the fourth quarter with a 6-5 lead.

In the final 15, the home team opened the period by extending its lead. Murawski found the back of the net twice, with 13:35 and 9:18 remaining, to give the Cougars an 8-5 lead. Simone added a helper on the first goal, before D'Ambrosia assisted on the second goal, during a man-up situation. Hunt responded for Utica with a man-up goal of his own 15 seconds after Murawski's second goal to cut the lead to two, with assist credit to Considine. Orsini added another for the Pioneers with 4:51 remaining, again off a pass by Considine. The Cougars tacked on their final goal with 3:33 remaining to establish their winning lead. Credit for the game-winning goal went to Simone, assisted by Louis. The orange and blue added one more with 1:40 remaining, off the stick of Orsini, with an assist credit to Reid.

The Pioneers will look to rebound in a matchup next Wednesday, March 25th, when the SUNY Morrisville Mustangs come to town for the team's first home game in three weeks. Opening faceoff is set for 4:00 pm at Gaetano Stadium.