2014 Field Hockey Schedule

Utica, NY (August 21, 2014) – The two-time defending Empire 8 Conference Champion Utica College field hockey team, under sixth-year Head Coach Sarah Elleman, kicks off its 2014 campaign on Saturday, August 30 at the Oneonta State Invitational.  The Pioneers will square off against St. Lawrence University on Saturday (2:30 p.m.) before facing The College of Wooster on Sunday, August 31st (11:30 a.m.).  Utica and St. Lawrence share the all-time series with a 5-5 mark dating back to 2004, while UC defeated Wooster, 3-2, in their first contest against each other back in 2012.
 
The Pioneers currently have 18 games on the schedule including 10 on the road and eight at the friendly confines of Charles A. Gaetano Stadium.  After the opening weekend in Oneonta, UC will travel to New Paltz on Sept. 9 to wrap up its road trip. The Pioneers then open up a stretch of four straight, and five-of-six, on their home turf.  Utica will welcome Empire 8 foe Hartwick on Saturday, Sept 13 for its Empire 8 Conference home opener followed by Geneseo on Wednesday, September 17 and then Elmira (9/20/14) and Skidmore (9/21/14) over the weekend.  The Pioneers hit the road for one game as they journey to Houghton (9/27/14) before coming back home to meet cross-town rival Hamilton College on October 1.
 
Utica will be away from home for most of the second half with six of its final nine games on the road, including three in conference play. UC will travel to Nazareth (10/4/14), Brockport (10/8/14), and Ithaca (10/11/14) before returning home for an Empire 8 battle versus Stevens (10/12/14).  The Pioneers then are back on the road for back-to-back contests against Washington & Jefferson (10/18/14) and the University of Rochester (10/22/14).  Following two non-conference contests versus RPI (10/25/14) and Oneonta (10/29/14), the Pioneers wrap up regular season play against E8 rival St. John Fisher on Saturday, November 1.
 
Over the last six seasons under Elleman, the Pioneers are an impressive 37-18 at the friendly confines of Gaetano Stadium, including a 17-5 mark in the past two seasons.  UC is 24-26 away from home dating back to 2008, however it has managed a 12-4 road ledger over the previous two seasons.
 
Coach Elleman and the Pioneers had another record breaking season in 2013 as they wrapped up their campaign with an overall record of 17-5, en route to their second straight Empire 8 Conference Championship, an automatic NCAA Tournament berth, and NCAA "sweet sixteen" appearance.  UC also set new program records for wins (17), points (205), goals (77), and assists (49) in a season.
 
For the second year in a row, four members of the Utica College field hockey team were named to the Longstreth / NFHCA Division III North Atlantic All-Region team.  Hannah Mackey (Locke, NY/Moravia Central) and Alaina Stojkovski (Liverpool, NY/Cicero-North Syracuse) as well as Kells Casey (Sandwich, MA/Kimball Union Academy) were first-team selections, while Louise Steele-Norton (Avondale, PA/Millbrook School) was named to the second-team. Casey was also named a First Team ECAC All-Star while Mackey went on to earn Longstreth/National Field Hockey Coaches Association Division III All-American honors.  Mackey earned third team All-American recognition, after being named first team All-Region and the Empire 8 Tournament MVP.
 
Mackey is the second All-American from UC in as many years, joining classmate Louise Steele-Norton (Avondale, PA/Millbrook School), who earned first team status as a sophomore.  Mackey's 2013 campaign was her best yet as she collected a career-best 46 points including a career-high 19 goals. She finished first in the Empire 8 Conference in goals and second in points. She has earned All-Region status in each of her three seasons, including first team recognition the last two years.  In the last three seasons, Utica is 28-5 when Mackey scores at least one goal.  Her 119 points and 48 goals rank second all-time at UC.
 
Off the field, Utica earned National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Division III All-Academic Team honors for the seventh consecutive season.  10 members of the team were also named to the National Academic Squad.  Six Pioneers were named to the Empire 8 Conference President's List for earning a 3.75 grade point average or higher. The field hockey team was also one off six Utica programs to be honored as an Empire 8 All-Academic squad after compiling a team GPA of 3.26.
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