Utica, NY (4/10/13) – The Utica College women's lacrosse team is looking to get back to its winning ways after dropping two straight conference games last week. The Pioneers welcome cross town foe SUNY IT to Charles A. Gaetano Stadium Wednesday, April 10 for a 3 p.m. face-off.
Last Time Out: The Pioneers are coming off a two game losing streak after falling to Fisher on April 6, 13-4 and Nazareth a day later, 12-5... Junior
Julia Primps (Ossining, NY/Ossining) (Ossining, NY/Ossining), sophomores
Louise Steele-Norton (Avondale, PA/Millbrook School) (Avondale, PA/Millbrook School) and
Megan Kane (Staten Island, NY/Tottenville) (Staten Island, NY/Tottenville) and freshman
Courtney Wheeler (Ava, NY/Rome Free Academy) (Ava, NY/Rome Free Academy) combined for Utica's four goals against Fisher... Kane and Steele-Norton were the only Pioneers to score in both games for Utica... The Pioneers had a season low in both games in shot attempts as the Cardinals and Golden Flyers held them to 10 and 21 shots respectively.
Out in Front: The Pioneers are currently 6-3 overall with a 1-2 mark in the Empire 8 Conference... They are sitting in fifth place heading into Wednesday's non-conference match-up and will be looking to grab momentum heading into their final stretch of conference games... Utica is currently out in front of its opponents in eight of the nine offensive categories including, shot attempts (104-248 vs. 65-177), goals scored per game (11.56 vs. 7.22), shot percentage (.419 vs. .367), shots on goal-attempts (171-248 vs. 130-177), shots per game (27.6 vs. 19.7), assists (47 vs. 23), free position made/attempted (19-52 vs. 14-49) and free position percentage (.365 vs. .286).
DuPont Getting the Job Done: Sophomore
Morgan DuPont (Wynantskill, NY/Averill Park) (Wynantskill, NY/Averill Park) currently leads all Pioneers with 27 points off of 18 goals and nine assists... She also leads the team in shot percentage (51.4%) and is second on the team in shots on goal (28)... She scored a season-high four goals on March 30 as the Pioneers defeated Hartwick College 13-5.
Putting on the Wheels: Freshman
Courtney Wheeler (Ava, NY/Rome Free Academy) (Ava, NY/Rome Free Academy) has left a good impression on the program so far in her nine games this season... The new comer is currently tied for second on the team in points with 26... She has 15 goals this season, ranking her third on the team... Wheeler currently leads all Pioneers with 11 assists... She also has a team-best 23 groundballs and 13 caused turnovers.
Scoring Machine: Sophomore
Megan Kane (Staten Island, NY/Tottenville) (Staten Island, NY/Tottenville) leads all Pioneers this season with 25 goals... She is tied for second on the team with 26 total points and leads the team in total shots with 51... Kane is second on the team in shot percentage (.490) and is second in groundballs and caused turnovers with 21 and 12, respectively.
Between the Pipes: Senior
Stephanie Belanger (Lewiston, ME/Lewiston) (Lewiston, ME/Lewiston) has a 6-3 record in net so far this season for the Pioneers... Belanger is ranked in the top five of all four goal keeping categories in the conference including first in goals against (65), first in goals against average (7.12), second in save percentage (50.05) and fourth in total saves (65).
Scouting the Wildcats: SUNY IT is currently 1-5 overall with a 1-1 mark in NEAC... They are coming off a 6-1 win over Hilbert on Sunday, April 7... The Wildcats are led by freshman Laura Tolbert who has a team-high 13 goals this season... Junior Amanda Bohne is currently second on the team in goals (6) and is tied for the lead with Tolbert with 27 shots a piece.
UC vs. IT: The Pioneers are 1-0 all-time against the Wildcats after their lacrosse program moved to the varsity level last spring... Utica defeated them 16-0 in their first-ever meeting between the two squads.
The Pioneers return home again on Saturday, April 13 as they welcome Empire 8 rival Ithaca College to Gaetano Stadium... The Bombers currently sit atop the conference with an overall record of 6-4 and a 3-0 mark in conference play... Game time is set for 3 p.m.
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