UTICA, NY – The Utica College men's soccer team hits the road Saturday to take on Empire 8 Conference opponent Alfred… The game is set for 1 p.m.
Last Time Out: The Pioneers took #22 Skidmore to the brink but eventually fell 2-1 in double overtime on Tuesday… After a scoreless first half Skidmore struck first 10 minutes into the second half…12 minutes later
Ricky Drake (Clifton Park, NY/Catholic Central) set up a
Matt Beljan (Bedminster, PA/Christopher Dock) goal to tie it at 1-1…Four minutes into the second overtime Skidmore put away the winner to stop the upset.
One of The Best In E8: Shane Ruffing (Rochester, NY/Westborough) is in the top 10 in the conference in almost every offensive category… Ruffing is fifth in the conference in points (18), points per game (1.38), goals (7), and average assists per game (.308)… He is ranked sixth in average goals per game (.538), shots (40), and shots per game (3.08)… Ruffing is ranked seventh in assists (4).
Team Effort: Utica has 16 players with at least one point on the season…
Patrick Claffey (Burlington, CT/Lewis Mills) is third on the team with six points off of two goals and two assists…
Jordan Senay (Lockport, NY/Lockport) is in fourth with four points off of one goal and two assists…
Matt Beljan (Bedminster, PA/Christopher Dock),
Justin Schray (Oxford, NY/Oxford), and
Marcel Dupuis (Hannacroix, NY/Greenville) are tied for fifth with each player having three points off of one goal and one assist.
In The Net: Sophomore
Matthew Milograno (Marcy, NY/Whitesboro) has appeared in five games while starting in four for UC… Milograno has 21 saves and a save percentage of .724…Senior
Nick Hallett (Adams, NY/South Jefferson CSD) has started in 10 games this year… Hallett is fourth in the conference in saves (52), saves per game (5.20), and fifth in the conference in save percentage (.722).
Scouting Alfred: The Saxons are 8-2-2 overall with a 2-1-1 Empire 8 record… Alfred is coming off of a 2-1 loss to conference foe Stevens last Saturday… The Saxons are led by Richard Lander (25 points off of eight goals and nine assists), Oumar Soumahoro (19 points off of eight goals and three assists), and goalkeeper Christopher Gutierrez (32 saves, a save percentage of .865, and three shutouts).
Recent Years Against The Saxons: Utica is 5-0 against Alfred over the last five years… The two teams tied 0-0 in 2009 and the last time the Pioneers fell to the Saxons was 3-2 in overtime in 2005.
Looking Ahead: UC will be at home on Tuesday taking on SUNY Canton at Charles A. Gaetano Stadium … The game is set to start at 6 p.m.
Social Media: Make sure to follow live updates of all the action on the Pioneers official Twitter feed: @UCPioneers… If you are at the game and 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
