Utica, NY- The Utica College women's lacrosse team hits the road this weekend for two Empire 8 Conference match ups. Utica faces off against Elmira College on Saturday and St. John Fisher on Sunday. Face-off is set for 12 p.m. for both days.
 
Last Time Out: The Pioneers are coming off a weekend where they went 1-1…On Saturday UC defeated Alfred 15-2…Nine different Pioneers had at least one goal, led by Megan Kane (Staten Island, NY/Tottenville) and Briana Estabrook (Tully, NY/Tully ) who each had three goals in the victory…On Sunday the Pioneers lost a close game to Nazareth 11-10 as Naz netted the game-winner with just 1:14 remaining in regulation…Five players found the back of the net at least once and Megan Kane (Staten Island, NY/Tottenville) netted a team-best four goals.
 
Offensive Output: Utica College is second in the conference in scoring, averaging 12.27 goals per game…The team is also first in the E8 in shots per game with an average of 29.91…The Pioneers have seven players with 10 points or more on the team…They are led by Megan Kane (Staten Island, NY/Tottenville) who has team highs in points (45), goals (36), groundballs (50), draw controls (43), and caused turnovers (25)… Kane is also 23^rd nationally with 4.55 ground balls per game.
 
Dominate Defense: The Pioneers are first in the conference and 31^st nationally in goals against allowing just 7.82 goals per game…UC is third in the conference and 38^th in the nation in caused turnovers forcing 120 turnovers on the year…The team is also second in the E8 with 23.45 ground balls per game.
 
Against Elmira: The Pioneers are 4-1 against the Soaring Eagles over the last five years…Utica last lost to Elmira 6-5 in 2013… Three out of the five match ups were decided by two goals or less… Last year, UC topped Elmira 12-7 behind a five-goal effort from Rebecca Plunkett (Kings Park, NY/Kings Park).
 
Against St. John Fisher: The Pioneers are 1-4 against St. John Fisher over the last five years…UC last beat the Cardinals 10-6 in 2010… Last year, the Pioneers fell to Fisher 11-5 at Gaetano Stadium… Four different players totaled two points in the game, including Rebecca Plunkett (Kings Park, NY/Kings Park), Megan Kane (Staten Island, NY/Tottenville), Morgan DuPont (Wynantskill, NY/Averill Park), and current volunteer assistant coach Julia Primps (Ossining, NY/Ossining).
 
Scouting Elmira: The Soaring Eagles are 2-9 overall and have a 1-5 conference record so far this season… They enter this weekend's match up after defeating SUNY Canton 16-7…The Soaring Eagles have five players with 10 or more points…They are led by Moorea Spoljaric who has 43 points (33 goals, 10 assists) and Ashton Hogan who has 32 points on 26 goals and six assists.
 
Scouting St. John Fisher: The Cardinals are 8-4 overall with a 4-1 conference record so far this season…They are coming off a pair of wins over conference rivals Stevens and Hartwick College…Fisher has seven players with 10 or more points…The Cardinals are led by Samantha Barton who has 32 points (27 goals, five assists) and Kennedy Frink who has 32 points (seven goals, 25 assists).
 
Looking Ahead: The Pioneers wrap up the regular season next week with two Empire 8 Conference contests… UC will take on Ithaca College on Wednesday (4 p.m.) and Houghton College Saturday (4 p.m.)… Both games will be at Charles A. Gaetano Stadium.