UTICA, NY- The Utica College women's lacrosse team returns to action Wednesday as it hosts Empire 8 foe, Nazareth College. Game time is scheduled for 4 p.m.
 
LAST TIME OUT: The Pioneers are coming off a tough loss to St. John Fisher College, 19-1, in Empire 8 Conference action last Tuesday… Junior Brooke Miller (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy) scored the lone Utica goal, while Sara Hennessey (East Syracuse, NY/East Syracuse Minoa) picked up the assist… Goalies Emily Holtshouser (Londonderry, NH/Londonderry) and Hali Vandermeulen (Walden, NY/Valley Central) recorded a combined seven saves on the day… The loss drops the Pioneers to 6-6 overall and 3-3 in the Empire 8. 
 
#ONELOVE GAME: On Wednesday the women's lacrosse team will be partnering with the One Love Foundation… The goal of the One Love Foundation is to honor Yeardley Love by bringing an end to Relationship Violence by educating, empowering and activating campus communities in a movement for change… Yeardley Love was a women's lacrosse player at the University of Virginia who was beaten to death by her ex-boyfriend in 2010… During their game on Wednesday, the Pioneers will be holding a 50/50 raffle and collecting donations to support the One Love Foundation… For more information about Yeardley Love or the foundation, please visit www.joinonelove.org.
 
PLAYOFF HUNT: The Pioneers are currently fifth in the Empire 8 Conference standings with a 3-3 record in E8 play… If Utica wins its final two games, the Pioneers will qualify for the conference tournament for just the second time in program history.
 
LEADING THE WAY: Senior Rebecca Plunkett (Kings Park, NY/Kings Park) has a team-high 36 points and 32 goals… Plunkett has totaled 160 points in her career and needs just one more point to move into a tie for fourth place on the College's career scoring list with 2015 graduate and current assistant coach, Morgan DuPont…  Plunkett ranks fourth all-time with 142 career goals… She needs five more to tie 2015 graduate Megan Kane for third on the list.
 
HELPING OUT: Junior Brooke Miller (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy) is also putting up big numbers this season… She has scored a career-high 32 goals and ranks second on the squad with 33 points… Senior Sara Hennessey (East Syracuse, NY/East Syracuse Minoa) leads the team with 18 assists and she ranks fourth on the squad with 24 points.
 
NO SOPHOMORE SLUMP: Second year midfielder Katlyn Scarpinella (South Setauket, NY/Ward Melville) has a career-high 19 goals and 13 assists so far… She ranks third on the team with 32 points, and she is second on the squad with 32 ground balls and 32 draw controls.
 
BIG D: Senior Maggie Notter (Clifton Springs, NY/Midlakes) leads the E8 with 42 ground balls and 29 caused turnovers… Freshman Hailee DuMont (Wilkes-Barre, PA/James M. Coughlin) has fit in nicely with the Pioneers as she is second on the squad with 14 caused turnovers and she ranks third with 27 ground balls.
 
SCOUTING NAZARETH COLLEGE: The Golden Flyers are 8-6 overall and 4-2 in the Empire 8 Conference… Nazareth recently beat conference opponent, Elmira College, 18-7 at home last Saturday… Three Nazareth players have scored 30 or more goals this season… Leading the team in points is senior Kate Rothrock (55)…  She scored 31 goals and has 24 assists this season… Junior Haley DeVona scored a team-high 37 goals and is ranked second on the team with 46 points… Senior Jamie Martin scored 30 goals this season and is ranked third on the team with 37 points… Brianna Rizzari has played the most games, as goalie, on the team this year (14)… She has recorded a team-high 97 saves and is 8-6 on the year. 
 
LOOKING AHEAD: After Nazareth, the Pioneers will play their final regular season game on the road against Hartwick College this Saturday… Game time is scheduled for 1 p.m.