Box Score Ithaca, NY (10/17/12)- The Utica College field hockey team defeated host Ithaca College in an Empire 8 match up Wednesday afternoon.  Sophomores Hannah Mackey (Locke, NY/Moravia Central), Louise Steele-Norton (Avondale, PA/Millbrook School), and Nikki Kieffer (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy) all scored for the Pioneers, while freshman Kells Casey (Sandwich, MA/Kimball Union Academy) had five saves on the day.

Mackey got things going early as she netted her tenth goal of the year just over two minutes into the game.  Mackey gathered a ball on the left side of the net and fired a backhand into the far side to put the Pioneers up 1-0.

Just six minutes later, Steele-Norton netted her league-leading 20th goal of the season with an unassisted tally.  After Utica was awarded a penalty corner, the ball bounced around in the Ithaca end.  Steele-Norton picked up a rebound and fired the ball into the net.

The score remained the same until the final minute of play as Nikki Kieffer (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy) scored her first goal of the season.  After sustained pressure in the Bombers' zone, Utica received a penalty corner.  Steele-Norton settled the ball down and passed to Kieffer for the tip in.

Utica goalkeeper Kells Casey (Sandwich, MA/Kimball Union Academy) made five saves for her second consecutive shutout, while her counterpart, Kelly Singleton had four saves.  The Pioneers improve to 10-4 overall and 3-3 in the Empire 8 while the Bombers fall to 6-9 with a 2-4 mark in the E8.

With three points in the game, Steele-Norton moves into a tie for first place with Danille Fiore '04 on the College's single-season point scoring list.  She also continues to improve upon the single-season goal-scoring record that she recently set. 

Utica returns to action Saturday as it travels to Houghton College for a match up against the Highlanders.  The Empire 8 contest is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.


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