Adriana Surprenant and the Pioneers look for their third Empire 8 victory as they face Ithaca
Utica, NY (10/1/13)- The Utica College field hockey team continues Empire 8 play, Wednesday, as it hosts conference foe, Ithaca College. Game time is set for 4 p.m.
GAME COVERAGE: Live video for all home games is available at empire8.tv… Links for live stats for Wednesday's contest are available on the Pioneers' schedule page at www.ucpioneers.com… Utica College's student radio station WPNR 90.7 FM will be broadcasting the game and live streaming audio of the contest can be accessed at www.utica.edu/wpnr.
SOCIAL MEDIA: If you can't make it out to the game make sure to follow live updates on the Pioneers official Twitter feed: @UCPioneers … If you are at the game, or talking about the game on Twitter, make sure to use #LetsGoUC … You can also "Like" the Pioneers on Facebook at www.facebook.com/UCpioneers.
LAST TIME OUT: UC is coming off a dominant 6-1 conference victory over Nazareth College on Saturday… Junior
Louise Steele-Norton (Avondale, PA/Millbrook School) had two goals, while classmate
Hannah Mackey (Locke, NY/Moravia Central) had one goal and one assist… Junior
Alaina Stojkovski (Liverpool, NY/Cicero-North Syracuse) and sophomore
Colleen Dowling (Fairport, NY/Fairport) had two assists, and
Olivia Plaisted (Hampden, ME/Hampden Academy),
Becki Vivacqua (Yorkville, NY/New York Mills Jr-Sr High), and
Jessica Franklin (Delevan, NY/Pioneer) each had one goal on the day.
CHASING THE RECORD: Louise Steele-Norton (Avondale, PA/Millbrook School) currently has 105 career points, just five away from the College's all-time scoring record held by Shannon Rohacek '05… On the season, she is tied for second in the conference with eight goals, and is third in the E8 in points (17)… She has tallied at least one point in six of seven games played this season.
MACKEY CONTINUES TO SHINE: Junior
Hannah Mackey (Locke, NY/Moravia Central) is tied with Steele-Norton for second in the conference in goals… She also leads the team and ranks second in the E8 in points (20) and points per game (2.5)… She is currently fourth on the all-time scoring list with 93 points and needs just seven points to become the third Pioneer to ever reach the 100-point plateau… UC is 5-0 this year when Mackey tallies at least one point.
DOWLING NAMED UC ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: Sophomore
Colleen Dowling (Fairport, NY/Fairport) was named the College's Female Athlete of the Week, Monday, after recording four points last week… On Wednesday, she scored UC's only goal in a 2-1 overtime loss to nationally ranked No. 12 Skidmore College… She followed that up by assisting on both of Steele-Norton's goals in a 6-1 win over Nazareth on Saturday… She now has 10 points on three goals and four assists this season.
CASEY PICKING UP WHERE SHE LEFT OFF: Goalie
Kells Casey (Sandwich, MA/Kimball Union Academy), a First Team All-Conference and Second Team All-Region selection last year, has continued her strong play into her sophomore campaign… Casey currently leads the Empire 8 with a 1.214 goals against average and is second in save percentage (.846) and shutouts (two).
SPREADING THE WEALTH: 11 different players have tallied at least one goal on the season… Juniors
Alaina Stojkovski (Liverpool, NY/Cicero-North Syracuse) and
Becki Vivacqua (Yorkville, NY/New York Mills Jr-Sr High) are tied for third on the team with four goals each… Dowling,
Emily Gascon (Chenango Forks, NY/Greene), and
Jessica Franklin (Delevan, NY/Pioneer) have found the back of the net three times each, while
Chasity Eckert (Afton, NY/Afton Central),
Olivia Plaisted (Hampden, ME/Hampden Academy),
Adriana Surprenant (Utica, NY/New York Mills Jr-Sr High), and
Angela Charles (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool) have also added goals for the Pioneers.
SCOUTING ITHACA: The Bombers are 6-2 overall and 1-1 in the Empire 8… They are coming off a 3-2 loss to Stevens on Saturday… Ithaca is led by Lindsay Flanagan and Olivia Salindong… Flanagan has a team-best five goals and 13 points, while Salindong has 11 points (three goals, five assists)… Freshman goalie Katie Lass was recently named Empire 8 Goalie of the Week after stopping 28 shots against Stevens… Lass also leads the conference with a .866 save percentage.
HOW WE STACK UP: Utica has outscored opponents 38-10 this season, while the Bombers have netted 35 goals and allowed 11… As a team, UC leads the conference in goals, goals against, goals per game (4.625) and margin of victory (3.63), while Ithaca ranks second in the same categories, including goals per game (4.375), and margin of victory (3.00)… Ithaca holds a 3-2 advantage in heads up play over the last five years, however the Pioneers have won their last two meetings against the Bombers… Last year Utica topped Ithaca 3-0…
Hannah Mackey (Locke, NY/Moravia Central),
Louise Steele-Norton (Avondale, PA/Millbrook School) and
Nikki Kieffer (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy) each had one goal, while Steele-Norton also added one assist.
LOOKING AHEAD: The Pioneers will travel to Hoboken, NJ on Saturday for a conference match up against Stevens Institute of Technology… Game time is set for 6 p.m.
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