KEUKA PARK, NY - Utica University's men's lacrosse team hit the road to take on Keuka College in the squad's third game of Empire 8 play. At the Jephson Community Athletic Complex, the Pioneers outscored the hosts 18-5 to take the team's second win of the season, and first within the conference. Utica will look to build upon the win in another upcoming E8 road game, next Wednesday against SUNY Poly.

Numerous Pioneers chipped in on the scoresheet in the win, but junior attackman Ryan Considine (Syracuse, NY/West Genesee) shone brightest, finishing with nine total points, via three goals and six assists. It marks just the third time in his career that he has scored more than six points in a game, and falls one point short of his career best of 10, which he achieved against Keuka (5/17/2024) and VTSU-Castleton (3/8/2025). Senior attackman Ryan Hollenbeck (Baldwinsville, NY/Charles W. Baker) achieved his first hat trick of 2026, adding one assist as the only other Pioneer to reach four points. Senior Nolan Shea (Williston, VT/Champlain Valley Union) scored two goals and one assist, with junior James Morris (Clayton, CA/Clayton Valley Charter) matching the stat line, scoring the first points of his collegiate career. Midfielders Logan Waterman (Ava, NY/Rome Free Academy) and Dunny Dunn each found the back of the net twice as the final multi-goal Pioneers. Connor Gorton (Middlesex, NY/Marcus Whitman), Cade Bourcy (Syracuse, NY/Skaneateles), Mason Little (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa), and Jarrett Sherman (New Hartford, NY/New Hartford) each added one goal to round out Utica's goal scoring. Michael Mecca (Oceanside, NY/Oceanside), Landen Fray, and Chase Nappi (Niskayuna, NY/Niskayuna) each tallied a helper. Colin Musso (Auburn, NY/Auburn) led the squad with three caused turnovers, with Considine taking the ground ball lead with seven. At the faceoff X, four Pioneers attempted a draw, led primarily by Nappi (9-of-11) and Bourcy (8-of-10). Between the pipes, Jake Bowen (Williston, VT/Champlain Valley Union) made seven saves en route to his second win.

The Keuka offense was well-contained, as the team's five goals were concentrated among four players. Nikolas Gitsis led the team with one goal and two assists, with Harrison Root scoring twice as the only multi-goal Wolf. Aiden Nice and Austin Holsclaw each added one goal. Keuka's Lorenzo Rand led the game with eight ground balls. Cole Davis took 21 of the Wolves' 26 faceoffs, winning four. Jaxson Tucker played the full 60:00 in net, making 23 saves. 

The opening frame would've led many to believe this game would be tight to the wire, with just three goals being scored, 2-1 in favor of the orange and blue. Considine found Gorton for the first goal of his collegiate career after 8:37 of play to open the scoring. Two minutes later, Waterman netted a feed from Morris to build a 2-0 Pioneer lead. With 1:58 left, Holsclaw found the back of the net to establish a 2-1 score entering the second quarter.

Keuka scored first in the second to tie the game back at 2-2, with Nice netting a man-up feed from Gitsis 2:36 into the frame. Over three minutes later, Dunn tacked one on the board for the orange and blue to take the lead back. Just over a minute after Dunn's goal, with 8:04 remaining, Morris was found by Considine for the 4-2 goal. Neither team could break through for a chunk of play until Utica dominated the final 1:15 of the half. At the 1:15 mark, Waterman netted another feed from Considine, before Hollenbeck netted a third consecutive Considine assist with 26 seconds left. With just six seconds left, Hollenbeck then assisted on a Mason Little (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa) goal. The final seconds of the half ticked off the clock with a 7-2 Utica lead.

Out of the half, Gitsis struck first for the hosts with 13:33 on the clock. Within the next 25 seconds, both Considine and Shea beat the Keuka goalie to quickly swing momentum back to the orange and blue. Nappi assisted on Considine's goal, with Frey helping on Shea's. Considine then added back-to-back unassisted goals at the 9:07 and 7:52 marks to extend an 11-3 Pioneer lead. To close the quarter, Root added back-to-back goals of his own, both in man-up situations, at the 5:45 and 2:44 marks. Gitsis added a helper on the earlier of the two scores. Neither team added another goal in the quarter, giving way to a 11-5 score through 45:00.

The final quarter was all Utica, seeing seven goals all go the Pioneers' way. The goal scoring was bookended by career firsts for two juniors, beginning with Bourcy just seven seconds into the frame, and ending with Sherman with 6:06 remaining. In between, Hollenbeck scored twice (11:44 and 6:44), with Morris (9:53), Dunn (8:02), and Shea (7:09) each netting one. In the final 15:00, Utica put 13 shots on target, the most of any quarter, while also limiting Keuka to just one shot attempt, which was not put on goal. In addition, Utica committed just one turnover to Keuka's seven, and pulled in 17 ground balls to the Wolves' four.

The Pioneers stay on the road for their upcoming matchup against SUNY Poly next Wednesday, April 8th. Opening faceoff is set for 4:00 pm at SUNY Poly's Wildcat Field. Utica returns to Gaetano Stadium next Saturday, April 11th, when SUNY Brockport comes to town in the first of three straight Utica home games. The game against the Golden Eagles will honor the late Mike Parnell, an iconic member of the Utica men's lacrosse program, both as a player and a coach.