UTICA, NY- The Utica College field hockey team looks to get back on track Saturday as it welcomes Houghton College for an Empire 8 Conference contest.  Game time is scheduled for 1 p.m.
 
LAST TIME OUT: The Pioneers suffered their first loss of the season Wednesday night, falling to RPI 6-2… Sabrina Whitehouse (Greenwich, NY/Greenwich) scored for the second straight game, while Rylee Meelan (Clinton, NY/Clinton) netted her team-leading fourth goal of the year… Sabrina Whitehouse (Greenwich, NY/Greenwich) and Melissa Koch (Syracuse, NY/East Syracuse Minoa) each tallied an assist on Meelan's goal… Samantha Whitehouse (Greenwich, NY/Greenwich) made 10 saves in the loss.
 
LEADING THE WAY: Junior Rylee Meelan (Clinton, NY/Clinton) leads the team and is tied for fifth in the conference with eight points… Her four goals on the season are tied for third in the E8, just one shy of the league-lead… On the defensive side, senior Jordan Noga (Marcy, NY/Whitesboro), who was recently named the Empire 8 Defensive Player of the Week, leads the conference and ranks third nationally with four defensive saves… As a team, the Pioneers are tied for first nationally with eight defensive saves on the year.
 
HEATING UP: Freshman Samantha Whitehouse (Greenwich, NY/Greenwich) is finding her stride as she ranks second on the team with six points (two goals, two assists)… She has tallied at least one point in each of her last three games and has now scored a goal in back-to-back contests, including the game-winner with 57 seconds left against Nazareth last Saturday. 
 
HELPING OUT: Four other players have scored at least one goal so far this year… Melissa Koch (Syracuse, NY/East Syracuse Minoa) and Joanna Gaertner (Schuylerville, NY/Schuylerville) each have two goals… Josie Sgarlata (Canastota, NY/Canastota) and Madison Williams (Prospect, NY/Holland Patent) have each found the back of the net once.
 
SCOUTING HOUGHTON: The Highlanders are 3-2 overall and they are coming off a 3-0 loss to Cortland on Tuesday… Tanya Hamilton leads the team with four goals and she ranks third in the conference with 1.00 goals per game… Goalie Elizabeth Piszker has a .794 save percentage and a 1.40 goals against average.
 
AGAINST THE HIGHLANDERS: UC is 5-0 all-time against Houghton, with three shutouts… Last year, UC came away with a 3-2 victory on the road… Rylee Meelan (Clinton, NY/Clinton) and Jordan Noga (Marcy, NY/Whitesboro) each had one goal, while Melissa Koch (Syracuse, NY/East Syracuse Minoa) had two assists on the day.
 
LOOKING AHEAD: UC kicks off a four-game road trip on Tuesday as it travels to Hartwick… Game time is scheduled for 4 p.m.