UTICA, NY – The Utica College men's soccer team travels to Houghton College on Saturday to take on the Highlanders in Empire 8 Conference action at 12 p.m.

Follow the Game Live: Houghton Athletic Communications will provide live video and stats for Saturday's contest … To follow along live please visit: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/houghton/.   

Down the Stretch They Come: UC is 1-2-1 in its last four games and currently holds a record of 6-9-1 overall … The Pioneers have three contests remaining on their regular season schedule including a two game home stand to close out the schedule against Hobart (Tuesday, 10/24/17) and Stevens (Sunday, 10/29/17) .
 
Much Needed Rest: The Pioneers have been idle since last Saturday, a welcomed rest after coming off two consecutive double overtime results … The Pioneers most recently tied Empire 8 Conference foe Sage College 0-0 in double overtime last Saturday … On Oct. 11^th the Pioneers dropped a heartbreaker against Hamilton College 1-0 in 106^th minute.

Record Against Houghton: Utica is 1-2-2 against the Highlanders in the past five seasons … Their one victory against Houghton came on Sept. 20, 2014 at Gaetano Stadium … Last season the Pioneers netted three first half goals and worked a 3-3 tie against Houghton on the road … Thomas Muller (Camillus, NY/Bishop Ludden) netted one goal, assisted by Bitz Gazashvilli, while current assistant coach Owen Gillam (Bristol, CT/Bristol) added two tallies of his own against the Highlanders one year ago.   

Assist Leader: Utica College junior midfielder Julian Fonseca (Rocky Hill, CT/Bridgton) led the way with a career-high five points to increase his team-leading point total to 16 (three goals, 10 assists) as the Pioneers topped visiting SUNY Canton 4-1 back on Oct. 3rd…  Fonseca is currently tied for second in the league with 16 points … He also has five more assists than any other player in the league … Fonseca needs just two more helpers to tie the program's single season assist record of 12 originally set by Roberto Sgueglia (2010) and Evan Dufault (2007).

One Goal Games: Eight of the Pioneers' 16 games this season have been decided by one goal or less … UC has lost five one goal games this season … 13 of the Pioneers 19 goals this year have come in the second half of play … Utica also holds a 88-79 corner kick advantage over its opponents this season.

Spreading the Wealth: Six different players have scored at least three points this year … Alex Purcell (Lansing, NY/Lansing) ranks second on the team with nine points on four goals and one assist … Thomas Muller (Camillus, NY/Bishop Ludden) is tied with Purcell for first on the team with four goals … Patrick Hynes (Glenmont, NY/Bethlehem) has six points on two goals and two assists, while Michael Bernardo (Bay Shore, NY/Bay Shore) has four points on one goal and two assists … Walk-on Paul Mitchell (Belfast, Ireland/CBS) has one goal and one assist. 

Confident in Our Keeper: Goalie Jonathan Side (Plattsburgh, NY/Plattsburgh) has a 1.21 goals against average … His save percentage of .828 ranks second in the league, as does his 6.00 saves per game … He also ranks third in the league with four shutouts.