GENESEO, NY - Utica University's men's lacrosse team wrapped up its regular season on the road against SUNY Geneseo. At College Stadium, the Knights downed the orange and blue by a score of 16-6. The defeat moves Utica to 6-9 overall this season, and 5-4 inside the E8. With a playoff berth clinched, the squad will now look ahead to the First Round of the Empire 8 Tournament next Tuesday.
The Pioneer point scoring was limited to just five players.
Quinn Orsini (Guilderland, NY/Guilderland) was the only multi-goal player on the day for Utica, joined by
Ryan Considine (Syracuse, NY/West Genesee) (1g, 1a) as the only other Pioneer with a second point. Michael Reird,
Aaron Bergquist (Brewerton, NY/Central Square), and
Lucas Donahue (Burnt Hills, NY/Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake) each scored once.
Vincent Bernardo (Ossining, NY/Ossining) led the team with three caused turnovers, while the trio of Bergquist,
Colin Musso (Auburn, NY/Auburn), and
Cade Bourcy (Syracuse, NY/Skaneateles) tied for the team lead with three ground balls each. At the faceoff X, Bourcy and
Chase Nappi (Niskayuna, NY/Niskayuna) each took 11 draws, winning five and three draws, respectively. In net,
Jake Bowen (Williston, VT/Champlain Valley Union) made eight saves.
10 different Knights recorded a point, led by Jacob Pensabene with five (3g, 2a). Ian Leahey (3g, 1a) and Askel Stanat (2g, 2a) made up the four-point scorers. Ryan Trebing, Luca Schettino, and Owen Ellick each netted two, with Trebing also adding one assist. Ronnie Trebing and Nick Turner scored the final goals, while R. Trebing, Elijah Martin, and Max Esposito each turned in one assist. Josh Knapp caused four turnovers, while Sam Myung led the team with five ground balls. Between the pipes, Ben Bradshaw made 11 saves.
Geneseo jumped ahead with back-to-back goals from Leahey inside the first 2:26 of play. Considine struck back for the Pioneers just over a minute later, but another quick two strikes by Pensabene and Stanat extended the hosts' lead to 4-1. With 7:34 left in the first, Orsini beat the keeper to make the score 4-2, netting the final Utica goal of the half. Three minutes later, Leahey completed his hat trick off a pass from Stanet before R. Trebing netted a goal with 10 seconds left to close the first frame 6-2 Geneseo.
The second quarter was tough on the Pioneers, as they were held scoreless. Of the four frames, the second was the one in which they attempted the fewest total shots (5/29) and committed the most turnovers (8/22). 54 seconds in, Pensabene finished a pass from Leahey. Under a minute later, Esposito found Ellick to continue the Geneseo run. Play settled for the next 11:28, until an unassisted goal by Schettino with 1:48 remaining established the 9-2 lead the Knights carried through the halftime break.
It took 4:35 of play, but R. Trebing finished a feed from Pensabene to continue the Geneseo run into the second half. A minute and a half later, Schettino netted another unassisted score to bring the lead to 11-2. Exactly two minutes after Schettino's goal, with 6:53 left, Donahue netted a man-up goal to end the Knights' seven-goal run. Considine recorded an assist on the play, earning his 33rd of the season, tying the program single-season record. Returning to the trend from the first quarter, the Utica goal was followed by two Geneseo goals, the first by Stanet, who then assisted on a Pensabene goal. With 1:39 left, Orsini netted the final goal of the quarter to enter the fourth with Geneseo leading 13-4.
Two minutes into the final quarter, R. Trebing again netted an assist by Pensebene to open the quarter, before Ellick netted another goal 40 seconds later. With 7:04 remaining, Reid scored the Pioneer's fifth of the day before play slowed down. Neither team broke through until Turner scored for Geneseo with 47 seconds remaining. 17 seconds after play resumed, Bergquist netted the final goal of the game, closing the 16-6 final.
Utica men's lacrosse will continue its season next week, making the program's second appearance in the Empire 8 Championship Tournament. The #5-seeded Pioneers will open on the road against #4-seeded Hartwick College on Tuesday, April 28th. Opening faceoff is set for 4:00 pm at Wright Stadium.
