Utica, NY – The Utica College women's soccer team is hosting Empire 8 opponent Nazareth on Saturday for its Brain Cancer Awareness game. The team's first in-conference contest of the season will kick-off at 1 p.m.
 
Playing for Courtney Wagner: The Pioneers will be dedicating this game to Courtney Wagner. Courtney is goalkeeper Allison Wagner (Canandaigua, NY/Canandaigua Academy)'s older sister, who passed away due to brain cancer when she was just 18 years old. Courtney demonstrated a genuine love and passion for soccer, which continued to shine through during her four year-long battle with cancer. Saturday's game is to promote cancer awareness and show support to all families that have been affected by this terrible disease. The team will be wearing grey ribbons to represent brain cancer awareness and special warm-up shirts to honor Courtney Wagner.
 
Last Time Out: In the team's last appearance, UC defeated SUNY ESF by way of a 1-0 shutout. Jenna Mazza (Frankfort, NY/Sauquoit Valley) scored the lone goal of the contest within the first five minutes, to help get the win. Goalkeeper Allison Wagner (Canandaigua, NY/Canandaigua Academy) made 11 saves in the game, on her way to recording her fourth clean sheet of the season. The win bumped the team's record up to 3-4-1 overall so far this season.
 
Continued Improvements: The Pioneers have shown growth since last year and even from the first game of this season, as they continue to improve. After not scoring a goal in the first three games, they have now tallied eight scores in just the last four contests. UC finished with just two wins all of last season, while this year it has already eclipsed that mark, prior to the beginning of conference play. Defensively the team has improved as well. Last year the goalkeepers combined for two shutouts and so far this season Allison Wagner (Canandaigua, NY/Canandaigua Academy) has already earned four.
 
Conference Rankings: Within the Empire 8, Abby Reilly (Brookfield, NY/Brookfield) currently ranks ninth with her goal count of three. Keri Berkowitz (Racine, WI/Racine Saint Catherine's) is sitting in second place in assists, tallying a total of three so far this season. Sophomore goalie Allison Wagner (Canandaigua, NY/Canandaigua Academy) is presently second in the E8 with 63 saves and a saves percentage of .900. Wagner is also the conference leader with her four shutouts so far.
 
Scouting Nazareth: The Golden Flyers are sitting at a record of 4-2-1 overall heading into this conference matchup. The team lost its last contest to RIT, with the final score reading 1-0. Julia Delgatti and Nicole Petocchi have both scored three goals on the season and are top ten in the E8 in scoring. Delgatti along with teammates Kristen Prohaska and Elizabeth Guidi all are top ten in assists within the conference, tallying two assists each. Goalkeeper Hannah Miller has let up only five goals this season and is second in the Empire 8 with three shutouts. Her saves percentage of .861 is third in the conference and she owns fourth with her total save count of 31.
 
Against Nazareth: Last year when these two teams faced off, Nazareth walked away with a 2-0 victory. The Golden Flyers controlled the game outshooting UC, 30-5, when it was all over. Allison Wagner (Canandaigua, NY/Canandaigua Academy) recorded her career-high of 18 saves in the contest. The Pioneers have not defeated Nazareth since the 2006 season when they came away with a 2-0 win on the road.
 
Looking Ahead: The Pioneers will be in action again on September 30^th for another home Empire 8 contest. The team faces off against Houghton College, beginning at 3 p.m.