Utica, NY (10/4/12)- The Utica College field hockey team hits the road this weekend as it travels to Washington, PA for a conference clash against defending Empire 8 Champion, Washington & Jefferson College. Game time is scheduled for 12 p.m. Saturday.
Last Time Out: Utica is fresh off a 6-2 victory at home over non-conference opponent, RPI… Sophomore
Louise Steele-Norton (Avondale, PA/Millbrook School) had three goals for UC, while classmate
Hannah Mackey (Locke, NY/Moravia Central) added a goal and two assists… Freshman
Kells Casey (Sandwich, MA/Kimball Union Academy) had six saves in her second consecutive start.
Where We Sit: The Pioneers are currently 7-3 overall and 1-2 in the Empire 8 Conference… They are ranked eighth in the E8 standings, but have played the fewest conference games… They have averaged 3. 70 goals per game, while allowing just 1.80 goals against.
Casey Stepping Up: Freshman
Kells Casey (Sandwich, MA/Kimball Union Academy), who was recently named the Empire 8 Conference Defensive Player of the Week, has been strong between the pipes for Utica since taking the starting spot last week… She earned a 2-1 overtime victory in her first collegiate start, Saturday against U of R… Casey followed that up with the win against RPI and will be counted on the come up big against the Presidents this weekend.
Steele-Norton Among National Leaders: Sophomore
Louise Steele-Norton (Avondale, PA/Millbrook School) has been on fire recently… As of Monday, she was tied for 10th in the nation in goals per game (1.44) and added three more scores Wednesday… She is also in the top 25 nationally with 2.89 points per game… The reigning Empire 8 scoring leader has already tallied one more goal and totaled more points than she did all of last season… She needs just five more points to move into third place on the College's all-time single-season point-scoring list.
Helping Out: Sophomores
Hannah Mackey (Locke, NY/Moravia Central) and
Alaina Stojkovski (Liverpool, NY/Cicero-North Syracuse) are tied for second in the conference with eight assists… Mackey is also second in the conference in points (24), and fifth in goals (eight) while Stojkovski is third on the team with four goals on the season.
Scouting W&J: The Presidents are currently 6-4 overall and 2-2 in the Empire 8… They are coming off a 2-0 win over Frostburg State Tuesday… W&J picked up conference wins over Ithaca (2-0) and Nazareth (5-1) and lost to St. John Fisher 2-1, and Hartwick 5-2… The team is led by senior Arielle King and sophomore Catherine Beaudoin, each has totaled five goals and two assists.
Against the Presidents: Utica is 4-4 all-time against W & J… The teams split their meetings last season with Utica winning 2-1 in overtime on Sept. 24, before falling 4-2 in the semifinals of the Empire 8 Conference tournament on Nov. 5… The Presidents have knocked the Pioneers out of the conference tournament in each of the last two seasons.
Looking Ahead: Following this, Utica returns home to take on Skidmore College... The game is scheduled for 4 p.m. Wednesday… Next Saturday, The Pioneers welcome conference opponent, St. John Fisher College to the friendly confines of Charles A. Gaetano Stadium as part of UC's homecoming festivities.
--- www.ucpioneers.com ---
