UTICA, NY—The Alfred University men's lacrosse team (11-1, E8 4-1) grinded out a 9-8 win over Empire 8 foe, Utica College, tallying their fourth win in a row.
 
Senior attack Nicolas Wood (Canandaigua, NY/Canandaigua) and freshman attack Jake Lynch (Whitney Point, NY/Whitney Point) score a hat trick each to pace the scoring for the Saxons.  Sophomore midfielder Derek Bishopp (Livonia, NY/Livonia) and sophomore midfielder John Winchell (Vestal, NY/Vestal) scored two goals and one goal, respectively.
 
Winchell and junior midfielder Tanner Morse (Corning, NY/Corning East) were the frontrunners in assists for AU in the contest.  Sophomore midfielder Matt Zandri (Baldwinville, NY/Baldwinsville) added a helper in the game as well.
 
The Saxons jumped out to an early lead when Winchell found Lynch for a goal only 52 seconds into the game.  Three minutes later the Pioneers knotted the game up at one when Codey Staulters added a goal of his own from Patrick Mulligan.  Utica would score another goal five minutes later to the take the lead. 
 
With 3:14 to go in the first quarter Zandri hooked up with Wood to tie the game.  Less than a minute later teammates Morse and Bishopp grabbed the lead with a pass, shoot, and score of their own.
 
Once again it was Lynch scoring in the opening seconds of the quarter, increasing the AU advantage 4-2 only 44 seconds into the quarter.  The Pioneers gained some ground back with a goal with 8:55 to go in the half.  Neither team would score heading into the locker rooms.  Heading into the intermission AU held a tight, 4-3, lead on the Pioneers.
 
Only 3:15 into the second half Winchell beat the Utica goalie to earn his 17^th goal of the season.  However, the Pioneers knotted the game up with back-to-back goals in less than 30 seconds with 5:44 to go in the quarter.  Each team would score one more goal to lock the game at six goals each heading into the final quarter.
 
Defense was key in the opening moments of the fourth quarter, with neither team giving a goal in the first five minutes.  However, Lynch broke the tie on a man-up goal after receiving a pass from Morse to complete his hat trick.  Bishopp scored four minutes later to increase the margin to two goals with 5:29 left in the game.  Wood added one more crucial insurance goal with 4:51 on the clock to put the Saxons up 9-6.
 
With time running out the Pioneers put forth a final assault to get back into the game.  Utica's Matthew Miller and Mulligan scored goals at the 3:03 and 50 second marks, respectively.  However, the Saxons defense was able to stifle the surging Pioneers long enough to maintain a lead to the final horn.  In the end the Saxons came out on top, 9-8.
 
Sophomore midfielder Jimmy Pratti (Minisink, NY/Minisink Valley) won 12-of-21 faceoffs for AU while grabbing a team-high five ground balls.  Sophomore defenseman Chris Deisenroth (Webster, NY/Webster Schroeder) and junior defenseman Max Wilson (Menlo Park, CA/Menlo-Atherton) had four groundballs, each.  Wilson also tallied a team-high three caused turnovers.  Sophomore defense Nate Bellis (Canandaigua, NY/Canandaigua Academy) and junior midfield Nolan Jessop (Churchville, NY/Churchville Chili) had two caused turnovers, each.
 
Freshman goalie Drew Gardner (Whitney Point, NY/Whitney Point) was in goal for the Saxons, making 10 saves in the game.  Andrew DiOrio was in goal for the Pioneers, making 15 stops.
 
Alfred University looks to make it five wins in a row when they travel to St. John Fisher Sat. April 18, to take on the Cardinals in an Empire 8 matchup at 1:00PM.