Utica, NY- The Utica College field hockey team is back home Thursday to faceoff against the Skidmore College Thoroughbreds at Charles A. Gaetano Stadium.  Game time starts at 7 p.m. 

LAST TIME OUT: The Pioneers lost 4-0 against Washington & Jefferson College on Saturday.  Senior Rachel Scaramuzzino and sophomore Rebecca Kauffman (Mount Joy, PA/Linden Hall) both had one shot on goal.  Junior goalie Samantha Whitehouse (Greenwich, NY/Greenwich) made five saves in the cage for the Pioneers.  Utica now sits at a 2-9 overall record and is now 1-4 in the Empire 8 Conference. 

LEADING THE WAY: Sophomore Rylee Meelan (Clinton, NY/Clinton) and senior Rachael Scaramuzzino (Utica, NY/Whitesboro) lead the team with four goals apiece.  Meelan is also ranked seventh in the Empire 8 Conference in shots per game (3.36). Whitehouse has played every game so far this season, and during her time on the field, she has 107 saves.  

SCOUTING SKIDMORE: The Thoroughbreds are 8-2 overall and are 1-0 in the Liberty League Conference.  They have won seven out of their last eight games.  Sophomore Gabby Hyman leads the Thoroughbreds with 13 goals and two assists.  She played a big role during last Saturday's game as she scored three goals to lead Skidmore past Union 4-1.  Senior Krista Lamoreaux has a team high seven assists, and she is the second leading scorer with eight goals. 

AGAINST SKIDMORE: The Pioneers are 2-3 against Skidmore in the past five seasons.   Three of the team's losses were at Skidmore's home field, but Utica is 2-0 against the Thoroughbreds at Gaetano Stadium. 

LOOKING AHEAD: Utica will play Skidmore this Thursday before going on a three game road trip.  The first two games of their road trip are against Empire 8 opponents (Nazareth 10/8 and Houghton 10/15).  The last road game is a nonconference matchup against the SUNY Cortland Red Dragons on Oct. 16.