UTICA, NY- The Utica College women's lacrosse team heads back on the road Saturday to take on Empire 8 rival Stevens… Game time is scheduled for 11 a.m.
Last Time Out: The Pioneers suffered their first conference loss of the season as it fell to the nationally ranked No. 12 Ithaca Bombers… Utica senior
Rebecca Plunkett (Kings Park, NY/Kings Park) led Utica with four points on three goals and one assist… Senior
Sara Hennessey (East Syracuse, NY/East Syracuse Minoa) had a team-high two assists… Utica goalies
Emily Holtshouser (Londonderry, NH/Londonderry) and
Hali Vandermeulen (Walden, NY/Valley Central) combined for 11 saves… Despite the loss, the Pioneers are still two games above .500 (6-4) and have a 3-1 conference record.
Top Performing Players: With her four-point performance on Wednesday, Plunkett now leads the team with 34 points… She has three assists and a team-high 31 goals this season… Plunkett is also ranked fourth in the Empire 8 in goals per game (3.10) and second in the conference in draw controls per game (4.30)… Junior
Brooke Miller (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy) is also putting up big numbers for the Pioneers this season… She recorded 31 points on 30 goals and one assist in the 10 games she played this year… In the Empire 8 rankings, she is right behind Plunkett in fifth place in goals scored per game (3.0).
Vandermeulen Still Blocking the Way: Freshman
Hali Vandermeulen (Walden, NY/Valley Central) didn't play the entire 60 minutes against Ithaca last Wednesday, but she continues to lead the team in saves 62… She is also ranked fifth in the Empire 8 in saves per game (6.20) and has the conference's fifth best save percentage (.504)… Holtshouser made her first career start against Ithaca… She stopped five shots bringing her save total up to 10.
Scouting Stevens: The Stevens Ducks are 9-3 overall and undefeated in the Empire 8 (4-0)… The team just beat Empire 8 opponent, Nazareth College, 11-8 at home last Saturday… Ducks' freshman Kyra Bednarski scored a game-high four goals… Junior goalie Stephanie Schnelzer stopped nine shots to earn the victory… Bednarski is having a great season so far… She leads the team in points (53) and goals (33)… Ducks' goalie Schnelzer has started in all 12 games and has a team-high 68 saves… She is 9-3 this season and has a .523 save percentage.
Looking Ahead: After Stevens, the Pioneers will then travel to Rochester to play Empire 8 rival St. John Fisher on Tuesday at 4 p.m.
