Utica, NY (11/15/13)- The Utica College field hockey team readies for its second straight appearance in the "Sweet Sixteen" of the NCAA Division III Field Hockey Tournament as it travels to Middlebury, VT this weekend. The Pioneers take on No. 3 seed Middlebury College Saturday at 11 a.m. with the winner advancing to the regional championship Sunday at Middlebury.
LAST TIME OUT: UC downed visiting Castleton State 3-1 in its First Round NCAA game at Gaetano Stadium Wednesday evening… Three different players scored on the day for UC including sophomore
Colleen Dowling (Fairport, NY/Fairport), and juniors
Louise Steele-Norton (Avondale, PA/Millbrook School) and
Hannah Mackey (Locke, NY/Moravia Central)... Dowling and Steele-Norton also had one assist each and
Angela Charles (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool) added her fifth helper of the year to pace the Pioneers... The Pioneers were able to jump out to a 3-0 lead over the course of the first 41 minutes and they never looked back, improving to 17-4 overall on the year…. Sophomore
Kells Casey (Sandwich, MA/Kimball Union Academy) made ten saves in the win.
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.
HOW'D THEY GET HERE?: UC (17-4) got an automatic bid into the NCAA tournament with its second straight Empire 8 Conference title… The Pioneers topped St. John Fisher College 5-2 in the E8 finals… Utica then downed Castleton State 3-1 in its first round game on Wednesday… Three of Utica's four losses have come in overtime.
Middlebury also received an auto-bid into the tournament after winning its second straight NESCAC Championship with a 5-4 come-from-behind overtime victory over Bowdoin…. The Panthers (15-2) received a first round bye as the No. 3 overall seed in the tournament.
IN THE NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT: As a team, Utica ranks in the top-25 nationally in eight different statistical categories including scoring average (3.64), goals per game (3.70), goals against average (1.18), scoring margin (2.46), shutouts per game (.40), winning percentage (.800), points per game (9.65), and save percentage (.817).
BREAKING RECORDS: The 2013 Pioneers became the first team in program history to score over 200 points in a single season… They also extended their single season record for goals (77), assists (49) and wins (17) in program history… This year, two Pioneers broke the all-time points record of 110, held by Shannon Rohacek '06… Junior
Louise Steele-Norton (Avondale, PA/Millbrook School) is first all-time with 128 points and is second this season with 18 goals and 41 points… Classmate
Hannah Mackey (Locke, NY/Moravia Central) is second all-time in points (119) and is having her best season yet, leading the team with a career-high 19 goals and 46 points.
MIDFIELD MANAGER: First team All-Conference selection
Alaina Stojkovski (Liverpool, NY/Cicero-North Syracuse) is also etching her name in the history books as she ranks sixth all-time with 66 career points (21 goals, 24 assists)… Her 24 assists are second all-time to former All-American Carla Behe '06, who tallied 42 assists in four years.
IN THE CAGE: UC's
Kells Casey (Sandwich, MA/Kimball Union Academy), recently named to the E8 All-Conference First Team, currently ranks seventh in the nation with a save percentage of .831… She also ranks 16th nationally and leads the conference with a goals against average of 1.12… Casey ranks third all-time at UC with 27 wins in just two seasons… She has a career record of 27-7… She is also second all-time with nine career shut outs… Her 17 wins this season are a new single season record and she also set a new school-record for most shut outs in a single season with seven.
EXPERIENCED: Senior
Ally Sanders (Endicott, NY/Maine Endwell) has played in more games than any other Pioneer in program-history (79), surpassing Mallory Mariano '11 earlier this season… Sanders is one of just three players in school-history to play in 70 or more games… Sanders has three assists this season.
BY THE NUMBERS: UC has outscored opponents 77-25 and outshot opponents 269-145… UC is averaging 3.67 goals per game while allowing just 1.19 goals against per game… The second half has proven strong for UC as the Pioneers have outscored opponents 41-7 in the second half… UC is also streaking at the right time as the Pioneers have won eight of their last nine contests, with their most recent loss coming at the hands of Oneonta State, 4-3, in overtime.
THIRD TIME'S A CHARM: The Pioneers advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the third time in program-history (2005, 2012, 2013)… In 2004 Utica lost in the first round of the NCAA's 5-2 against Babson… Last year the Pioneers won their first NCAA game in school-history, topping visiting Endicott 4-1 at Charles A. Gaetano Stadium, before losing 3-2 in overtime to Depauw at Middlebury in the Sweet 16.
COMMON OPPONENTS: Utica and Middlebury share four common opponents this season… both teams have played St. Lawrence, Castleton, Skidmore, and Hamilton… UC defeated St. Lawrence 3-1, while Middlebury won 4-0… Utica defeated Castleton State 3-1 in the NCAA first round, while Middlebury downed the Spartans 8-3 earlier in the year… Utica lost to Skidmore 2-1 in overtime, while the Panthers beat Skidmore 4-0… UC defeated Hamilton 2-1, while Middlebury toped Hamilton 4-0.
SCOUTING MIDDLEBURY: Middlebury is no stranger to the NCAA tournament as the Panthers won the NCAA title in '98, finishing with a 17-1 mark, while advancing to the finals in '03, '04, '07 and '11… Middlebury is 15-2 on the year… The Panthers are led by NESCAC Player of the Year, Catherine Fowler, who has a league-leading 17 goals and 47 points… Fowler has scored in 16 of 17 games played this season… NESCAC Defensive Player of the Year, Meredith Rowe has helped the Panthers allow one goal or less in 11 different outings this season.
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