BOX SCORE

The St. John Fisher College men's soccer kicked off Homecoming weekend, Saturday at Growney Stadium, falling to the Utica College Pioneers 3-0 in an Empire 8 conference matchup.
 
Fisher now sits at 2-6-1 with an 0-2 record in the conference standings, while Utica improves to 4-5 with a 2-0 record against Empire 8 opponents.
 
Utica College stormed out to a quick 1-0 in the opening minutes of play when Greg Silvestro had a free-kick opportunity from just outside the box that beat Kyle Metcalfe.  The Pioneers added another score late in the first period on a corner kick as Silvestro's header found the waiting hands of Metcalfe, but he was ruled to be inside the goal line, nullifying the save.
 
The Cardinals were a different team in the second half, outshooting Utica 12-6, but the home team was unable to come away with a goal despite several strong opportunities.
 
The Cardinals best chance came in the second half as the Utica goal minder strayed a bit too far outside of the net and lost control of the ball, but the play was whistled dead, preserving the Pioneer lead.  A late corner kick by Josh Tomko set up Darren Buckley for a good scoring opportunity, but the shot was blocked by a Pioneer defender, spoiling Fisher's chances.
 
Utica scored its third goal in the closing minutes of the game when a loose ball was collected dep in the Cardinal zone and booted into the net.
 
Metcalfe made five saves in net for the Cardinals.  Shane Breznak had three shots, while Jake Quattrini tallied four in the loss.
 
Fisher will return to action at 3 p.m. on October 5 at Elmira College for an Empire 8 showdown.