UTICA, NY -- The Utica College women's lacrosse team opens up its 2015 campaign Sunday as it hosts Oswego State at Charles A. Gaetano Stadium.  Game time is scheduled for 12 p.m.
 
The Pioneers are coming off their best season in program history as they finished with a 10-6 overall record and narrowly missed out on the Empire 8 Conference Tournament with a 3-4 mark in league play.  Ten wins in a season is a new program-best for the Pioneers.
 
Utica returns nine starters from last year's squad, including the top four leading scorers.  2014 First Team All-Region selection Megan Kane (Staten Island, NY/Tottenville) is back for her senior season.  Kane led the team and finished third in the E8 with a career-high 45 goals this season.  Her 56 points were also a team-best and ranked fifth in the conference.  Classmate Morgan DuPont (Wynantskill, NY/Averill Park) also returns after leading the conference and setting a new single season record for assists at UC with 44 one year ago.  She finished second on the team with 54 points. Patricia Kane (Staten Island, NY/Tottenville) rounds out the trio of seniors on the attack.  She added 11 goals and 13 assists last season, and has started every game since joining the team as a freshman.  "I certainly expect a lot of big things from Meg and Trish Kane, and Morgan," said eighth year Head Coach Kristin St. Hilaire. "They're three of our seniors who have done so much for our program."
 
Rebecca Plunkett (Kings Park, NY/Kings Park) looks to build off her stellar freshman season that saw her finish seventh in the conference and second amongst first year players in the E8 with 42 goals on the season.  She had a team-high 44 draw controls, was third on the squad in ground balls (39).  "Rebecca Plunkett (Kings Park, NY/Kings Park) came out as a freshman last year and was one of our leading scorers, so I'm excited to see how she continues to grow this year," said St. Hilaire, who, at 56-48, is the program's all-time winningest coach.
 
Helping out in the midfield will be junior Courtney Wheeler (Ava, NY/Rome Free Academy).  Wheeler was fourth on the squad with 25 points (18 goals, seven assists) in 2014.  "Courtney was really good for us last season and she's been looking great in preseason, so I'm really excited to see what she can do for us. 
 
Junior Briana Estabrook (Tully, NY/Tully ), Mary Morgan Marafino (Monroe, NY/Central Square), and Lisa Howden (Syracuse, NY/Corcoran) will provide veteran leadership on the back end.  The trio was a mainstay on the UC defense that ranked third in the Empire 8 last season with an 8.75 goals against average. 
 
In goal, junior Erin Jacobson (Staten Island, NY/Curtis) returns after compiling a 9.02 goals against average and .429 save percentage in 16 starts last season.  She will be challenged by classmates Anastacia Faso (Walden, NY/Valley Central) and Kells Casey (Sandwich, MA/Kimball Union Academy).  Faso has made the switch to goalie after serving as a defender in her first two seasons.  Casey, a standout goalie on the Empire 8 Champion UC field hockey team, is making her first appearance on the lacrosse roster. 
 
Apart from the nine starters from last season's squad, also returning are Xiomara Rodriguez (Bay Shore, NY/Brentwood), Tori Couture (Auburn, ME/Edward Little ), Tewasherake Barnes (Akwesasne, NY/Salmon River), Kelly Stuhlman (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro), and Maggie Notter (Clifton Springs, NY/Midlakes), who add to the strong cast of veteran leadership.  "We have such a great group of returners, who helped us set a new program record last season.  They've really stepped up and used their experience to help the younger players." 
 
UC boasts seven newcomers including Casey and field hockey teammates Amanda Muldoon (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool) and Melissa Koch (Syracuse, NY/East Syracuse Minoa), sophomores Gabrielle Schnepp (Northville, MI/Belle Tire) and Katelyn Armstrong (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro), and freshmen Rebecca Loeza (Oceanside, NY/Oceanside), and Brooke Miller (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy).  "The newcomers are doing really well for us," said St. Hilaire.  "Its been pretty exciting to watch how much they've grown from the fall, to where we're at now towards the end of preseason.  I'm really looking forward to seeing how that translates once we get into game time."


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