UTICA, NY – The Utica College field hockey team travels to Hartwick College for an Empire 8 matchup Saturday. The game is scheduled for 11 a.m. at Wright Stadium.
 
Last Time Out: The Pioneers lost games against Ithaca (2-1) and Hamilton (4-1) on Saturday and Sunday … On Saturday UC scored in the first six minutes when Jessica Belt (Webster, NY/Webster-Schroeder) put in a backhanded shot assisted by Colleen Dowling (Fairport, NY/Fairport) … Utica held the lead until Ithaca tied it up in the 29^th minute and put in the game winner early in the second half right at the 38^th minute mark … On Sunday Hamilton scored three times in the first half taking a commanding 3-0 lead … The Pioneers got one back in the 45^th minute when Dowling netted a goal off the corner from Tori Couture (Auburn, ME/Edward Little ) … Hamilton then added some extra security in the 49^th minute extending the lead back to three.
 
Empire 8 Player of the Week: Colleen Dowling (Fairport, NY/Fairport) was named E8 player of the week for her five point effort off of two goals and three assists in three games last week ... Dowling leads the team with 17 points off of four goals and nine assists so far this season ... She is now ranked seventh in total career points with 67, she has moved up into 10^th in career goals (19), and her 29 career assists are one assist away from being tied with Alaina Stojkovski (Liverpool, NY/Cicero-North Syracuse) for third all-time … She is also tied for first in the conference in assists (9), and assists per game (.529).
 
Veterans Leading The Way: Junior Meghan McCormick (Ava, NY/RFA) is second on the team with 14 points off of six goals and two assists … Fellow junior Rachael Scaramuzzino (Utica, NY/Whitesboro) is fifth on the team with six points off of two goals and two assists … Senior Tori Couture (Auburn, ME/Edward Little ) has five points off of one goal and three assists while sophomore Maria Orsino (Sauquoit, NY/Sauquoit) has four points off of one goal and two assists.
 
Freshmen Standouts: Freshman Rylee Meelan (Clinton, NY/Clinton) is third on the team with 13 points off of six goals and one assist while classmate Jessica Belt (Webster, NY/Webster-Schroeder) is fourth on the team with 11 points off of five goals and one assist … Tiffany Evans (East Syracuse, NY/East Syracuse Minoa) and Rebecca Kauffmen each have four points off of two goals while Brittany Evans (East Syracuse, NY/East Syracuse Minoa) has four points off of a goal and two assists.
 
Record Breaker In The Net: Senior Kells Casey (Sandwich, MA/Kimball Union Academy) has appeared in and started 15 games this year … She is second in the conference in saves (118), third in the conference in average saves per game (7.87), and has a save percentage of 0.756 … Casey became the program's career saves leader and now has 386 saves in her career, four more than the previous record holder, Amanda McDonnell '09.
 
Scouting Hartwick: The Hawks are 5-9 overall with a 1-6 Empire 8 record … Hartwick is coming off of a 1-0 win over Wells College … The Hawks are led by Sarah Ryan (20 points off of nine goals and two assists), and Shannon Carter (125 saves and a save percentage of .786 in 14 games).
 
Recent Years Against The Hawks: Utica is 5-0 against Hartwick in the last five years … The Pioneers last lost to the Hawks 1-0 in 2009.
 
Empire 8 Tournament Picture: If Stevens wins (5-3 for #3 seed) AND W&J loses, Utica wins, Houghton wins then they would all be 4-4 and Naz is also 4-4.  Records against tied teams would put Utica at 2-1, Houghton 2-1, W&J 1-2, Naz 1-2.  Naz and W&J would be eliminated from tiebreaker with worst records against tied teams. Utica and Houghton would then be compared head to head and Utica beat Houghton in regular season to give Utica #4.
 
Social Media: Make sure to follow live updates of all the action on the Pioneers official Twitter feed: @UCPioneers … If you are at the games and on Twitter, or talking about the games 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.