The Utica College men's soccer team prepares for another Empire 8 Conference matchup at home against the Houghton Highlanders on Saturday.  The game is scheduled to start at 7 p.m.
 
LAST TIME OUT: The Pioneers were shutout 3-0 at home against the Hamilton Continentals on Wednesday night.  The Continentals outshot Utica 19-7.  UC junior goalie Matthew Milograno (Marcy, NY/Whitesboro) stayed in for the entire game.  Despite giving up three goals, he also had six saves.  Utica is now 2-10 overall and 1-3 in conference play.
 
LEADING THE WAY: Junior Bita Gazashvili (Tiblisi, Georgia) is the team's leading scorer with four goals this season. He is also ranked sixth in the Empire 8 Conference in points per game (Avg/G .83).  Gazashvili now has 36 career points (11 goals/14 assists) and is tied for 7th on the College's all-time scoring list. His 14 career assists rank fifth all-time at Utica.

GILLAM HAVING A BANNER YEAR: Senior midfielder Owen Gillam (Bristol, CT/Bristol) has a career-high seven points on three goals and one assist this season … He has started 11 of the Pioneers' 12 games and he has two goals in his last three games played.
 
BLOCKING THE WAY: After recording six saves against Hamilton, Milograno now has a total of 53 saves this season.  He is ranked first in the Empire 8 Conference in saves per game (Avg/G 5.89). 
 
SCOUTING HOUGHTON: The Houghton Highlanders are 8-2-2 overall and they are undefeated (4-0) in the Empire 8.  The team has also won six straight games.  Their last win came on Oct. 8 at home against Nazareth (4-1).    Sophomore Andrew Bussey scored two goals during that game while senior Landon Sheaffer and fifth-year senior Tyler Ashley each scored one.  The Highlanders have scored a total of 25 goals this season.  Ben Lawrence leads the team in goals scored (4).  Bussey, Sheaffer, and Ashley are tied for second with three goals. Houghton's defense is no joke as the Highlanders have only given up six goals all season. The team has a total of 43 saves this season.   Thirty-eight of them were from senior goalie Jacob Dunnett.   
 
AGAINST HOUGHTON: Utica is 1-2-1 against the Highlanders in the past four seasons.  Their one victory against Houghton came on Sept. 20, 2014 at Gaetano Stadium.  The Highlanders jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first half, but the Pioneers took control in the second half by scoring two goals in the final 28:21 of play. Last year's Empire 8 matchup did not go as well for the Pioneers as they lost to the Highlanders 4-1 on the road on Oct. 31, 2015.  

LOOKING AHEAD:  After Houghton, the Pioneers will play another road game next Wednesday (Oct. 19) against SUNY Canton.  Then Utica will play its final home game on Oct. 22 against the St. John Fisher Cardinals