Score: Utica College 13, Elmira College 4
Records: Utica (4-11, 3-5 Empire 8), Elmira (4-9, 1-7 Empire 8)
Location: Charles A. Gaetano Stadium - Utica, NY

Utica, NY -- The Elmira College men's lacrosse team was unable to keep up with Utica College in the second half of Saturday's 2016 season finale, as the Soaring Eagles fell 13-4 to their Empire 8 Conference rival on the road.

Trailing by two goals in the first quarter, senior Skyler Pradelski '16 got the Soaring Eagles on the board late in the period to slice the Utica lead in half. While the Pioneers pushed the advantage back to two goals with a tally from Ryan Desveaux at the 12:59 mark of the second quarter, Pradelski found the back of the net for the second time 32 seconds later, bringing his team within one.

Just over a minute before halftime, classmate TJ Leach '16 knotted the game at 3-3 with an unassisted goal, and the game went into the break tied.

The Pioneers exploded out of the gates in the second half to put up five goals in both the third and fourth quarters and seize the game. Dominic Castiglia was a driving force behind the dominate second-half performance, scoring a natural hat trick to give Utica a 9-3 lead early in the fourth quarter.

Leach finally ended the Pios' seven-goal run, netting Elmira's only second-half goal at 8:30 in the fourth, which made it a 10-4 game. It took five seconds, however, for Utica to win the ensuing faceoff and tack on another tally.

Turning Point
Elmira goalkeeper Cameron Prior '17 stood tall between the pipes for the Purple and Gold in the first half. With the Pioneers unleashing a total of 23 shots toward the third-year netminder in the first two quarters, Prior was able to limit the damage to three goals by making 14 saves. He did all he could to withstand the Utica assault in the second half, but the odds were against the EC goalie. Even though he made 20 saves and recorded a reputable .606 save percentage, his team was outshot 50-to-24, as the Pioneers dominated time of possession and continued to fire away until they penetrated the 6-foot-5, 240-pound wall for 10 goals in the second half.

Inside the Box

• Utica outshot Elmira in every quarter, finishing with a 50-to-24 advantage.
• The Soaring Eagles secured only 18 ground balls, as compared to 40 picked up by the home team.
• The Pioneers were near-perfect on faceoffs, winning 18-of-20 draws.
• Neither team found any success on the man-up offense, as EC was 0-for-4 and Utica was 0-for-6 on the power play.
• Pradelski and Leach each scored two goals.
• Carter Shinkaruk '16 earned Elmira's only assist.
• Long poles Kevin Schutt '19 and AJ Bourdon '16 scooped up four ground balls apiece.
• Schutt and Nick Cola '16 both caused a pair of turnovers.
• Prior finished with 20 saves in goal for EC.
• Eight different Pioneers scored a goal, led by Castiglia with three.
• Alex Finnegan was second on the team with three points, all coming by way of assists.
• John Hanlon was a beast in the faceoff circle, winning 15-of-16 draws and picking up eight ground balls.
• Matt Werkmeister led all defenders with five caused turnovers.
• Utica goalie Andrew DiOrio had a busy day in net as well, making 15 saves and allowing only four goals for the win.

News and Notes

• Elmira finished the 2016 season with a 4-9 record, with the four wins marking the most since the Soaring Eagles had five victories in 2011.
• Prior recorded at least 20 saves for the sixth time this season. His 223 saves on the year are more than any EC goalie has made in a single season in over 14 years.
• The Malden, MA, product led Elmira to a 12.62 goals-against average in 2016, the first time the team has surrendered less than 13.00 goals per game since 2007 (12.83).
• Pradelski ended his career on a 12-game goal scoring streak. He paced the offense with a career-high 27 goals and 28 points in 2016.
• Leach established new career highs in his final collegiate season with 23 points on 17 goals and six assists.
• Bourdon capped off his four years at Elmira having started every game, as Saturday marked his 53rd career start.
• Schutt's two caused turnovers brought his total to 27 in his rookie season, the most since Barrett Gast '12 caused 29 in 2012.