Elmira, NY -- Wyatt Katsos '17 and the Elmira College men's lacrosse team held visiting Utica College to just two goals in the first half, but the Pioneers would rally to knock off the Soaring Eagles on Senior Day, 9-6. Katsos matched a season high with 18 saves, increasing his season total to 146.
 
The four seniors on this year's team Eric Hallman '15, Josh Taylor '15, Nick Brown '15, and John Bigelow '16 were all honored pre-game for the time and effort they have each dedicated to the program. Those four also started and brought a high level of intensity to the field that helped EC get off to a strong start. Skyler Pradelski '16 would open the game's scoring with an unassisted goal just over five minutes into the game which was followed by an unassisted goal by TJ Leach'16 less than a minute later to give EC a 2-0 advantage. The Pioneers would get one back with five mintues to play in the first quarter but that would be it for the opening quarter's scoring as EC led, 2-1.
 
Pradelski again found the back of the net over four minutes into the second quarter to make it a 3-1 game but it would be five minutes until another goal would be scored. Breaking the scoring drought was PJ Tessier'17 who would take a pass from Pradelski and fire home a shot giving Elmira a 4-1 lead. Utica answered quickly as their faceoff man won the draw and beat the pack down the field for a score, making it 4-2 with five and a half minutes to play in the opening half. 4-2 looked to be the score heading into halftime, but Eric Hallman'15 changed that with an unassisted goal with 48 seconds left. Thanks to Hallman's goal, EC held a 5-2 advantage at the break.
 
Hallman pushed it to a four-goal game early on in the third quarter, but despite a number of chances, that would be EC's last goal of the game. Two one-minute Utica penalties directly following Hallman's goal gave Elmira an opportunity to add to their lead, but they were unable to find the back of the net during the man-up situation. The Soaring Eagle defense continued to play well, but the Pioneers would get two goals from Matthew Miller, the first at the 7:39 mark and the second with 44 seconds left in the quarter, to make it a 6-4 game heading into the final 15 minutes of play.
 
The Soaring Eagles, with a short bench, looked to preserve their two-goal lead, but Utica would score five goals in the quarter's first 10 minutes to swing the game in their favor. EC still had a few chances to get back in it, but Utica would hold on for the 9-6 victory.
 
Elmira returns to action on Wednesday, April 22nd when they host Stevens Institute of Technology for their final Empire 8 contest of the 2015 season. The game is scheduled to start at 4:00 p.m.