UTICA, NY- The Utica College field hockey team looks to get back to its winning ways this weekend as it hosts a four-team tournament featuring Oneonta, St. Lawrence, and New Paltz.  The Pioneers open up play Saturday at 11 a.m. against Oneonta and will wrap up the weekend Sunday against New Paltz at 1:30 p.m.
 
LAST TIME OUT: UC suffered a 5-0 defeat at the hands of Kean University on Tuesday… Junior Meghan McCormick (Ava, NY/RFA) led the way for the Pioneers as she fired a team-high five shots...  Senior Kells Casey (Sandwich, MA/Kimball Union Academy) and sophomore Samantha Whitehouse (Greenwich, NY/Greenwich) combined for 13 saves on the day.
 
FRESHMEN FITTING IN: Six freshmen saw their first collegiate action on Tuesday… Brittany Evans (East Syracuse, NY/East Syracuse Minoa), Tiffany Evans (East Syracuse, NY/East Syracuse Minoa), Rebecca Kauffman (Mount Joy, PA/Linden Hall), Rylee Meelan (Clinton, NY/Clinton), and Madison Babicz (New Hartford, NY/New Hartford) all started, while Jessica Belt (Webster, NY/Webster-Schroeder) played 22 minutes off the bench. 
 
SCOUTING ONEONTA: The Red Dragons are 0-1 after dropping their season opener to Ithaca, 3-1, on Tuesday afternoon… Oneonta finished the 2014 season with an 11-8 overall record and an appearance in the SUNYAC semifinals, where it lost to New Paltz 3-2… Last year, the Pioneers fell to the Red Dragons 3-1.
 
SCOUTING NEW PALTZ: The Hawks are currently 1-0 on the season after defeating Western Connecticut State 1-0 on Tuesday… New Paltz wrapped up the 2014 season with a 15-7 overall record, a SUNYAC Championship, and a trip to the NCAA Tournament… New Paltz was defeated in the second round by eventual National Champion TCNJ… The Hawks return leading scorer Kayla McKeveny, who netted a team-best 11 goals and 28 points in her sophomore campaign… Last year, Utica fell to New Paltz 4-2.
 
LOOKING AHEAD: Following this weekend's action, Utica will travel to Troy, NY for a match up against RPI… Game time is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Saturday.