UTICA, NY - Utica University's men's lacrosse team returned to Gaetano Stadium, playing host to the SUNY Morrisville Mustangs in the squad's third home game of the season, and first in three weeks. The Pioneers heavily pressured the visitors, besting the Mustangs in each of shots on goal, turnovers, ground balls, and faceoff wins, but Morrisville escaped the evening with a 15-10 victory. Utica will look to rebound in an upcoming matchup this Saturday with Nazareth University, the opening of 2026 Empire 8 conference play for both teams.

The Pioneer offense was spearheaded by junior Ethan Hunt (Skaneateles, NY/Skaneateles), who netted four scores, the only Utica player with multiple. The remaining six goals were split between Ryan Considine (Syracuse, NY/West Genesee), Lucas Donahue (Burnt Hills, NY/Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake), Michael Reid (Tully, NY/Tully), Quinn Orsini (Guilderland, NY/Guilderland), Mason Little (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa), and Ryan Hollenbeck (Baldwinsville, NY/Charles W. Baker). Considine joined fellow captain Noah Erickson (Auburn, NY/Auburn) in the two-assist club, followed by Donahue, Chase Nappi (Niskayuna, NY/Niskayuna), and Colin Musso (Auburn, NY/Auburn) with one apiece. Senior Landen Frey (Accord, NY/Rondout Valley) led the orange and blue with three caused turnovers, followed by Vincent Bernardo (Ossining, NY/Ossining) (two) as the only other Pioneer with multiple. Senior captain Michael Mecca (Oceanside, NY/Oceanside) led the squad with eight ground balls, with Considine (seven) and Nappi (six) chasing closely behind. Utica's faceoff unit had a strong day, going 23-of-29 as a team, as Nappi won 12-of-16, Cade Bourcy (Syracuse, NY/Skaneateles) won 10 of his 12 draws, and freshman Jason Torres (Bethlehem, PA/Liberty) won his lone attempt. Senior Jake Bowen (Williston, VT/Champlain Valley Union) continued his reign between the pipes, saving 12 shots that came his way.

Morrisville's offense was concentrated among a handful of players, as all 15 goals were split between five players, and 10 of them between two. Kyan Dohn led the Mustangs with six goals, followed by Dean Mohammed's four. The remaining five were split between Noah Taylor (two), Nicholas DeNicola (two), and Jason Tedeschi (one). Taylor added three assists to reach five total points, with Dohn adding another two points himself via helpers. John Carter tallied one assist as the only other Mustang point scorer. No Morrisville player reached three caused turnovers, but each of Mohammed, Jack Pendergrass, and goalie Blake Dunton earned two. DeNicola pulled in six ground balls, followed by Dunton with five. Back in the crease, Dunton stopped 19 Pioneer shot attempts.

The Mustangs used an explosive first quarter to gain a slight edge over the Pioneers, netting the opening goal of the game 55 seconds into play. Mohammed pocketed an unassisted goal on the game starter, followed by a quick Utica response by Hollenbeck 23 seconds later off a feed by Donahue. After a couple of scoreless minutes, Morrisville started a three-goal run to extend a 4-1 lead. Dohn netted the first with 10:59 remaining, followed by Taylor just over a minute later, and Mohammed with his second of the day with 7:46 left in the frame. Reid netted a pass from Erickson 45 seconds later to stop the run before Dohn netted a man-up goal from Taylor to give the Mustangs a 5-2 lead with 5:46 left in the first. Following the Morrisville goal, Hunt scored two goals within a 15-second span for the orange and blue, crediting assists to Considine and Nappi, respectively. With 3:47 in the frame, Dohn completed a hat trick with an unassisted goal to close out the first quarter with a 6-4 Mustang lead.

Hunt broke open the scoring in the second quarter, cutting the lead back to one after 40 seconds of play. Another 37 seconds later, Donahue netted one for the Pioneers to tie the game at 6-6, the first tie since 1-1 just over a minute into play, and the final even scoreline of the contest. DiNicola retook the lead for Morrisville with 12:56 remaining, off a feed by Dohn, before a nearly nine-minute span of scoreless play. Dohn then scored the next goal with 3:57 remaining to build a two-goal cushion. Just over a minute later, Considine netted an assist from Erickson to cut into that cushion, but with eight seconds remaining in the quarter, Taylor scored a feed from Dohn to establish a 9-7 Morrisville lead entering halftime. 

The third quarter produced the fewest points of any frame in the matchup, opening with an Orsini goal with 9:37 remaining. Considine was credited with a helper on the play. Dohn struck right back 12 seconds later before closing the third quarter by completing a double hat-trick on his eighth goal of the season. Taylor assisted on the quarter's final goal, which was netted with 3:46 left in the frame.

Down 11-8, the Pioneers struck first in the final 15 minutes, with Little netting his first collegiate goal. An assist went to Musso on the play with 8:43 left in the contest. With 7:05 remaining, Mohammed netted a helper by Taylor to take a 12-9 lead. The clock then ran down to 3:55, when Hunt netted an unassisted goal, his fourth and the team's final of the day. As time dwindled, the Pioneers were unable to break through, and further Morrisville goals by Tedeschi, Mohammed, and DiNicola within the last 1:13 of play shut the door on the orange and blue.

The Pioneers, now done with non-conference opponents, will turn their attention to Empire 8 competition. Conference play begins this Saturday, March 28th, when Utica travels to Nazareth University's NLPA Field for the first Empire 8 matchup of the season for both squads. Opening faceoff is set for 1:00 pm. The Pioneers return to Gaetano Stadium next Wednesday, April 1st, in a 4:00 pm scheduled matchup with #11-ranked St. John Fisher University.