UTICA, NY- The Utica College men's soccer team wraps up a three game road trip Wednesday as it travels to Clinton, NY for a non-conference game against Hamilton College. Kickoff is scheduled for 4:30 p.m.
 
LAST TIME OUT: The Pioneers have won two of their last three games heading into Hamilton … UC beat Wells College 3-1 last Sunday and followed that up with a 6-0 win over Cazenovia College on Wednesday…The Pioneers dropped their Empire 8 Conference opener to Ithaca College 4-0 on Saturday.
 
LEADING THE WAY: Sophomore Bita Gazashvili (Tiblisi, Georgia) and senior Shane Ruffing (Rochester, NY/Westborough) are first and second on the team with nine points and eight points, respectively… Gazashvili has three goals and three assists so far this season… Ruffing has three goals and two assists … Gazashvili's three goals are good for seventh in the Empire 8, and his three assists are good for third in the conference… Ruffing is right behind him as he is ninth in the conference in goals and eighth in the conference in assists.
 
SCORING IN THE TOP OF THE CONFERENCE: The Pioneers have been one of the best scoring teams in the Empire 8 so far this year… UC ranks third in the conference with 14 goals…Gazashvili and Ruffing lead the team with three goals while Patrick Claffey (Burlington, CT/Lewis Mills) and John Burke (Commack. NY/Commack) are second, having each added two goals…Justin Schray (Oxford, NY/Oxford), Peyton LeReaux, Nicolas Diaz (Commack, NY/Commack) and Raine Owen all have added one goal to the total.
 
SOLID IN NET: Senior goalkeeper Nick Hallett (Adams, NY/South Jefferson CSD) has been great in goal this year for the Pioneers…Hallett is second in the Empire 8 in saves (30) and saves per game (5.0)…Hallett also has recorded a .714 save percentage so far this season.

HOMECOMING FOR COACH MARCANTONIO: Utica College Head Coach Brian Marcantonio attended Hamilton College as an undergraduate and was a captain on the men's soccer team … Marcantonio also spent time as an assistant coach at Hamilton before accepting the head coaching position here at UC ... During his playing days at Hamilton, Marcantonio was a three-year starter and an All-Northeast Region D3Kicks.com selection.
 
SCOUTING HAMILTON: The Continentals are off to a 2-2 start this season losing both of their home games so far… Jack Temko, Mike Lubelczyk, and Eli Morris have led the way for Hamilton with one goal apiece on the year… Goalkeeper Harris Pollack has recorded a .810 save percentage in four games this season.
 
THE RIVALRY: Utica is looking to get back on a winning track against Hamilton…The Pioneers have lost 13 of the last 14 games against the Continentals dating back to 2001.
 
LOOKING AHEAD: The Pioneers will return to conference action at home this Saturday as they take on Nazareth College … Kickoff will be at 4 p.m. at Charles A. Gaetano Stadium.
 
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.