Utica, NY (4/11/14)- The Utica College women's lacrosse team is set for a big Empire 8 Conference series this weekend as it travels to Alfred University and Nazareth College.  UC takes on Alfred on Saturday and then travels to Nazareth on Sunday.  Both games are scheduled for 1 p.m.
 
LAST TIME OUT: UC is coming off a crushing 19-2 win over SUNYIT on Wednesday evening… Junior Megan Kane (Staten Island, NY/Tottenville) had a team-high five goals, while classmate Morgan DuPont (Wynantskill, NY/Averill Park) had four assists… Courtney Wheeler (Ava, NY/Rome Free Academy), Rebecca Plunkett (Kings Park, NY/Kings Park), Jackie Gould (Baldwinsville, NY/Baldwinsville), Colleen Dowling (Fairport, NY/Fairport), and Amanda Chruscicki (Utica, NY/Whitesboro) each had two goals, while Julia Primps (Ossining, NY/Ossining), Vanessa Maines (Boxborough, MA/Acton-Boxborough Regional), Louise Steele-Norton (Avondale, PA/Millbrook School) and Xiomara Rodriguez (Bay Shore, NY/Brentwood) had one goal each… Chruscicki and Rodriguez's tallies were their first collegiate goals… Erin Jacobson (Staten Island, NY/Curtis) and Tewasherake Barnes (Akwesasne, NY/Salmon River) combined for three saves in the win.
 
WHERE WE SIT: The Pioneers (7-3, 2-2 Empire 8) are just two wins shy of their program-best nine wins in a single season… UC has won three of its last four and is 3-0 on the road this season… Utica has also outscored its opponents 114-80 on the season and is averaging 11.4 goals per game.
 
DUPONT BREAKS ASSIST RECORD: With four assists on Wednesday, junior Morgan DuPont (Wynantskill, NY/Averill Park) broke the College's career assist record, previously held by Tammy Kohanski '11… DuPont now has 60 assists in her career, and her 30 assists this season are also a single-season record at UC… She currently leads the conference with 30 assists and 3.0 assists per game and is second on the team with 34 points. 
 
LEADING THE WAY: Junior Megan Kane (Staten Island, NY/Tottenville) leads the team and is second in the conference with 30 goals… Her 3.78 points per game also rank second in the E8… Freshman Rebecca Plunkett (Kings Park, NY/Kings Park) is second on the team and third in the conference with 29 goals. 
 
SCOUTING ALFRED: The Saxons are 1-5 overall and 0-2 in the conference… They are coming off an 18-6 loss to Stevens last Saturday… Alfred is led by Kaitlyn Button who has 16 points (14 goals, two assists) in six games… UC has won nine of the ten games against Alfred dating back to 2003… Last year, the Pioneers downed Alfred 16-9… Junior Louise Steele-Norton (Avondale, PA/Millbrook School) led UC with four goals and one assist, while classmate Megan Kane (Staten Island, NY/Tottenville) added three goals and two assists… Morgan DuPont (Wynantskill, NY/Averill Park) netted two goals and added one assist for Utica, as did Courtney Wheeler (Ava, NY/Rome Free Academy), and Julia Primps (Ossining, NY/Ossining) netted two goals of her own… Colleen Dowling (Fairport, NY/Fairport) and Patricia Kane (Staten Island, NY/Tottenville) each had one goal.
 
SCOUTING NAZ:  The Golden Flyers are 4-6 overall and 1-1 in the E8… They are coming off a 10-5 win over Hartwick last weekend… Nazareth will take on Ithaca College on Saturday, before hosting the Pioneers on Sunday… Junior Brooke Sullivan leads the team with 21 goals and 26 points… UC is 0-5 against Naz in the last five seasons… Last year, Utica fell to the Golden Flyers 12-5… Vanessa Maines (Boxborough, MA/Acton-Boxborough Regional), Morgan DuPont (Wynantskill, NY/Averill Park), Colleen Dowling (Fairport, NY/Fairport), Megan Kane (Staten Island, NY/Tottenville), and Louise Steele-Norton (Avondale, PA/Millbrook School) each had one goal on the day. 
 
LOOKING AHEAD: UC will return to action Wednesday as it travels to Morrisville State for a match up against the Mustangs… The non-conference contest is set to begin at 4 p.m.
 

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