MORRISVILLE, N.Y. – Visiting Utica College men's lacrosse scored twice in the fourth quarter to top host Morrisville State College 5-4 in a low scoring affair Thursday afternoon in Morrisville.

The loss is the fourth straight for Morrisville State, dropping them to 1-4 overall, while the Pioneers improve to 3-2.

Tom Rosaschi (North Syracuse, N.Y.) paced the Mustangs with two goals on the day, while teammate Eliud Evans (Culver City, Calif.) added a score and assisted another. Andrew Donoghue (Rochester, N.Y.) netted one to complete Morrisville State scoring.

Junior goalkeeper Chris Fiore (Staten Island, N.Y.) posted 15 saves in the efforts between the pipes.

Patrick Mulligan was the top scorer for Utica, posting two goals and assisting one, while teammates Liam Wheatley, Matthew Miller and Zack Stevenson each registered one score apiece. Alex Finnegan and Wheatley each recorded assists.

Andrew DiOrio collected the win for the Pioneers behind his eight save performance on the day.

Morrisville State posted the lone score of the opening quarter, as Evans connected with Rosaschi cutting through the center of the box with 2:37 to go in the first.

Evans extended the Mustang lead to two with an unassisted rifle from the right side of the box about 10 yards out early in the second quarter.

Utica was able to capitalize off a Morrisville State turnover with 1:02 to go and post their first tally of the afternoon, an unassisted goal off the stick of Zack Stevenson, before carrying that momentum into the third quarter where Mulligan posted two straight for the Pioneers to give them a 3-2 advantage after three.

Miller extended the lead to two for the visitors with 12:04 to go before Donoghue made it a one goal game with a man-up tally minutes later.

Wheatley regained the two goal lead for Utica with 5:58 remaining in the final quarter, going over the shoulder of Fiore in the left upper corner off a feed from Mulligan. Less than two minutes later, Rosaschi again brought Morrisville State within striking distance with an unassisted goal.

Morrisville State had plenty of chances down the stretch to even the contest at five, but costly turnovers in the closing minute regained possession for the visitors who were able to hold on for the win.

Utica held the 33-21 advantage in shots on the day, and edged Morrisville State 32-25 in ground balls. The Pioneers also forced 20 Mustang turnovers, five alone in the final quarter.

Morrisville State returns to the field next Tuesday, traveling to Potsdam for a 4 p.m. non-conference stint before opening North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) play in April.

Morrisville State's curricula are enriched with applied learning and pave the way for opportunity at both the Morrisville and Norwich campuses. An action-oriented, interactive learning lab, the college is a national leader in technology and has been lauded for its exemplary, innovative and effective community service programs.

In addition to being named to the 2014 President's Higher Community Education Service Honor Roll, the college was recognized by U.S. News and World Report as an institution in the top tier of the Best Regional Colleges list and ranked second among regional colleges nationwide for outperforming its anticipated graduation rate. For more information visit www.morrisville.edu.

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