UTICA, NY – The Utica College football team was selected to play in the post season for the first time in the program's 14 year history and the Pioneers will travel to Morrisville State College on Saturday to take on the Mustangs in the ECAC North Central Bowl at 1 p.m.

TICKETS: Tickets for the game will not be sold in advance; all tickets will be sold on site at Morrisville … Tickets are $2 with a Utica College ID and $5 for the general public at the gate.

GET ON THE BUS: Utica College will be sponsoring a FREE bus for UC students to travel to Morrisville on Saturday to root on the Pioneers -- the bus will depart from the Strebel Circle at 11:30 a.m. sharp and will leave Morrisville approximately 30 minutes after the end of the game … Seating is limited, so to sign up for the bus, please stop by the Office of Student Activities before 5 p.m. on Friday or email studentactivities@utica.edu to reserve your spot on the bus.

BEST SEASON EVER: The Pioneers wrapped up regular season play last weekend with a program-best 7-3 overall record and finished third in the Empire 8 Conference with a school-record five victories in E8 play.

QUOTES FROM COACH FAGGIANO: "It has always been a goal of ours to make the post season and it's a tremendous accomplishment for this group to be the first team in program-history to play in the post season" …. "246 college football programs play in Division III and we are one of just 44 teams still practicing this week, that's special." … "We are making history here at Utica College - breaking the school-record for wins and now being awarded a bowl game." … "This is something our student-athletes will never forget.  There is only one first, and we are proud to be the first bowl-bound team in UC football history."

BROADCAST INFO:  All Utica College football games will be broadcast on the radio locally at WTLB 99.1 FM/1310 AM (ESPN Radio) by play-by-play man Dave Peroni, color analyst Fred Miller and sideline reporter Ray Biggs … Live streaming audio can also be accessed on WTLB's website, www.espnur.com.

DOWNLOAD THE APP: All UC football radio broadcasts on WTLB 99.1 FM can be heard on the My Hometown Sports Application available in the Google Play store and on Apple ITunes... After you download the application make sure to select the ESPN Radio coverage … It's a free application so download today!

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 on Twitter, or talking about the game on Twitter, make sure to use #UCMoose… You can also "Like" the Pioneers on Facebook at www.facebook.com/UCpioneers ... Fans can also follow the Pioneers on Instagram: UCPioneers.

FOLLOW THE GAME LIVE: Fans can follow live video and live stats courtesy of Morrisville State at: https://morrisville.prestosports.com/sports/fball/2014-15/Live_Video

EMPIRE 8 BOUND: Morrisville will join Utica College in the Empire 8 Conference as an affiliate member for football at the beginning of next season … The Pioneers and the Mustangs also squared off in a preseason scrimmage earlier this year.

FAMILIAR FACE: Morrisville Head Coach Curt Fitzpatrick is the former Utica College offensive coordinator … Fitzpatrick was hired in the Winter of 2007 and spent five seasons on the sidelines with the Pioneers until accepting the position at Morrisville … He also played quarterback at St. John Fisher College while UC Head Coach Blaise Faggiano was an assistant coach with the Cardinals.

BUILDING A WINNING TRADITION: UC has now won five or more games in four out of the last five years.

FIRST MEETING: Saturday's match up between Utica and Morrisville marks the first time the two programs will meet in a regulation game … They have scrimmaged each other in year's past. 

LAST WEEKEND: (11/15/2014) The Utica College football team cemented its best record in program-history with a convincing 47-24 victory over host Hartwick College in Empire 8 Conference play Saturday afternoon … Senior running back Jesse Baldassare (Mt. Sinai, NY/Mt. Sinai) rushed the ball 30 times for 197 yards and became the College's all-time leading rusher to cap his career-day … Senior quarterback Connor Butkiewicz (Southington, CT/Southington) added 255 yards on 14 completions, including two touchdowns, while sophomore Jerred Beniquez (Port Ewen, NY/Kingston) added four catches for 90 yards, including a 20-yard touchdown grab.

IN THE NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT: The Utica offensive line ranks third nationally allowing an average of 0.60 sacks per game … The Pioneer offense has displayed great ball security all season and it currently ranks 30^th nationally and second in the Empire 8 with just 13 turnovers this season.

EMPIRE 8 PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Senior running back Jesse Baldassare (Mt. Sinai, NY/Mt. Sinai) was named the Empire 8 Conference Offensive Player of the Week Monday after totaling 197 yards and four touchdowns in the Pioneers win over Hartwick … Baldassare became the program's all-time leading rusher last week and he now has 1,774 career rushing yards … He needs three rushing touchdowns to tie the school's career record of 22 set back in 2013 by Jake Larson (Bemus Point, NY/Maple Grove) … He needs two rushing touchdowns to tie the school-record for touchdowns in a single season of 12, set back in 2010 by Jake Scott.

CONFIDENT QUARTERBACK: Senior quarterback Connor Butkiewicz (Southington, CT/Southington) needs 317 yards passing to break the 2,000 yard marker for the season ... He has only thrown two interceptions all season … Butkiewitcz needs nine more completions to become just the second quarterback in program-history to complete 400 or more passes in a career … He became the third player in school-history to compile over 4,00 total yards of offense in a career last week … He now needs 95 yards of total offense to surpass Nick Martin '06 for second on the all-time list.

ACE IN THE HOLE: Senior receiver Anthony Acevedo (New Hartford, NY/New Hartford) needs 99 yards receiving to reach 900 yards receiving in a single season for the second time in his career ... Acevedo is the College's all-time leader with 3,285 career receiving yards … He is also the school-record holder with 224 career receptions … He ranks second all-time with 22 career touchdown catches … His average of 6.40 catches per game (35 games played) are also a school-record … Acevedo became the first player in school-history to register 4,000 all-purpose yards in a career last weekend … He ranks second all-time at UC with 156 career points scored.

SPEED DEMON: Sophomore wide receiver/return man Jerred Beniquez (Port Ewen, NY/Kingston) needs 69 all-purpose yards to become the fifth player in program-history to total 1,200 or more all-purpose yards in a single season … Beniquez needs 15 kick return yards to break his own school-record for kick return yards in a single season – he currently has 601 … Beniquez set a new school-record for career kick return yards in the Pioneers win over Hartwick last weekend – he now has 1,216 in two seasons.

IT'S UP, IT'S GOOD: Junior kicker Thomas Woodburn (West Islip, NY/West Islip) needs to make two extra points to break the school-record for extra points made in a single season … Woodburn ranks third all-time at UC with 137 career points scored … He is the College's all-time leader with 18 career field goals made.

100 TACKLES: Sophomore linebacker Juwan Wilson (South Ozone Park, NY/Holy Cross) needs 11 tackles to move into fifth place on the College's single season tackles list – Wilson became the ninth player in program-history to record 100 or more tackles in a single season last week.

WATCH YOUR BACK: Junior defensive end Nick Woodman (Utica, NY/Proctor) holds the school-record for sacks in a single season with 12.0 to his credit this year … Woodman needs two sacks to break the school's career record of 18.5 sacks, currently held by assistant coach Tracy Branch '10 … Woodman's average of 1.15 sacks per game this season ranks eighth nationally.

BREAKING UP: Freshman Matt McCoy ranks fourth on the College's single-season list with eight pass break ups this season.

FIELD POSITION: Senior punter Dakota Peel (Alden, NY/Alden) ranks second all-time at UC with a career average of 39.68 yards per punt … He currently ranks eighth in the nation with an average of 41.3 yards per punt this season … He has pinned opponents inside their own 20 yard line 17 times this season and he also has five kicks of 50+ yards.

FRESHMAN PHENOM: Freshman J'Von Evans has shattered the school-record books with 402 punt return yards this season … He is now the College's all-time leader in career punt return yards … He currently ranks second in the country with an average of 21.2 yards per punt return … Evans also ranks second on the team with 482 rushing yards and seven touchdowns on 116 carries.

SAFETY NET: Senior safety James Lenahan (Mahopac, NY/Mahopac) ranks second all-time at UC with 14 career interceptions … He has a team-best four interceptions this season and he also has five pass break ups to go along with 37 tackles. 

TEAM RECORDS: The 2014 edition of the UC football team ranks second on the College's single season list with 1,437 yards rushing … The Pioneers have 24 total rushing touchdowns, a new school-record … UC needs 427 total yards of offense to become the fourth team in program-history to compile 4,000 yards in a single season … UC needs 11 points to become the fourth team in program-history to register 300 or more points in a single season … The Pioneers have 26.0 total sacks this season and need two more to tie the school-record set back in 2012 … The Utica defense has set a new school-record with 42 pass break ups this season.

MEET THE MUSTANGS: The Mustangs enter Saturday's contest with a program-best record of 8-2 on the season, clinching a share of the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) title after finishing their final season in the conference with a 6-1 stint … Senior quarterback Lemar Johnson is an All-American candidate after completing 179 passes for 2,280 yards and 22 touchdowns in the air … Johnson also has a team-best 1,035 yards rushing and 12 scores with his legs … He ranks 14^th nationally with 3,315 yards of total offense this season … Junior running back Cristian Pena has 797 yards rushing and 13 touchdowns this season … Caleb Wright leads the Pioneer defense with 82 tackles … Colton Evans has had an impressive season with 78 tackles, nine sacks, two forced fumbles and an interceptions.