UTICA, N.Y. – The Castleton University men's lacrosse team fell behind early and was unable to recover on Saturday in a non-conference road game against Utica, dropping a 10-5 battle to the Pioneers.
 
Utica (2-3) scored six first-quarter goals to take a commanding lead and was able to weather the storm despite Castleton (1-3) outscoring the hosts 5-4 over the final 45 minutes of action. The Pioneers had a 42-34 edge in shots with a 26-23 edge in shots on goal. Both goalies were impressive as they each tallied 16 or more saves. Castleton went 15-of-18 on the clear and Utica was 24-of-25. Ground balls were close with Utica holding a 36-33 edge, while Castleton dominated the face-offs on the day, winning 12-of-18.
 
Ethan Esposito was the only Spartan with a multi-point game, tallying a goal and an assist. Finn Miller, Ian Edgar Cam Frankenhoff and Hunter Sarro added goals, while Chris LaBonte tallied an assist. Frankenhoff tied with Casey Meczywor for the team lead with five ground balls, while Miller was 10-of-14 in face-offs on the day. Christopher Dindino had 16 saves in net.
 
Sam Serrano amassed five points on four goals and an assist, while John Spoto added a hat-trick of his own. Connor Costanza had a goal and two helpers on the day. Patrick Oswald saved 18 shots in 54 minutes of play.
 
After Utica tallied the first seven goals of the game, Castleton closed out the first half on a 3-0 run behind goals from Sarro, Esposito and Frankenhoff. Frankenhoff's score came just before the halftime horn as he beat the goalie with just one second to play in the quarter.
 
Utica extended its lead to 8-3 out of the locker room, but Miller netted a goal to make it 8-4. Two more Pioneer goals to end the third and begin the fourth quarters gave the hosts a 10-4 lead before Edgar potted a goal from Esposito with 1:27 to play to give the game its final score.
 
Castleton is back in action Wednesday night at SUNY Potsdam at 7 p.m.