UTICA, NY – After being selected to finish No. 6 in the Empire 8, the Utica College women's lacrosse team finished the 2006 season No. 4 and qualified for the Empire 8 Tournament for the first time in program history.
The Pioneers (8-6, 3-3 Empire 8) completed its most successful regular season in program history, winning eight overall and three in conference play.
The Pioneers won seven of their first ten games to start the season, while defeating conference rival St. John Fisher for the first time in the program's seven year history.
The Pioneers were loaded with senior depth that contributed to the historic season. Senior
Liz Strodel () (Corcoran/Syracuse) led the Pioneers for the second straight year in points with 56. She led the Pioneers in goals with 47, while adding nine assists.
Fellow seniors
Jennifer Munisteri () (St. Dominic/Merrick) and
Lauren Schreiner () (Cortland/Cortland) were vital to the offensive attack. Munisteri finished 2006 with her fourth-straight season with 30 or more goals, becoming the second-leading goal scorer in program history with 129 career goals. Schreiner was third on the team in goals scored with 19 and maintained a 69 percent (22-of-32) draw control average. She finishes her career with 96 goals, 24 assists and 120 total points.
Senior
Andrea Olney () (Rome Free Academy/Westernville) tied for third on the team with 27 points off of 10 goals and 17 assists. She finished second in the Empire 8 in assists per game with 1.21.
Sophomore
Laura Keating () (Horseheads/Whitesboro) finished the season leading the Empire 8 in ground balls per game with 4.71. She finished the regular season with 26 points off of 18 points and eight assists.
Senior goalie Dani Andrew (Westwood/Westwood, MA) tallied 147 saves, making 10.5 saves per game. Her eight wins this season set the school record for wins in a season.
First year head coach Bernadette Macca led the Pioneers to their best record in seven years setting program bests for winning percentage (.571) and wins (8), while earning their first trip to the Empire 8 Tournament in school history.
The season continues for the Pioneers as the post season gets underway Saturday May 6, 2006 as No. 4 Utica takes on host No. 1 Nazareth College in the Empire 8 Conference Semi-finals.
