UTICA, NY- The Utica College women's lacrosse team will open up its 2018 season on the road against SUNY Potsdam this Saturday in a non-conference matchup. This will be the second straight year that the Pioneers will face the Bears to open up the season as they defeated SUNY Potsdam 12-9 in 2017. Utica is 2-3 in the past five season openers.

Non-Conference Play: After facing SUNY Potsdam, Utica will play seven non-conference opponents this season. The Pioneers went 4-3 in non-conference play last season and are set to compete against a new non-conference opponent this year when they take on SUNY Canton on April 25 at Charles A. Gaetano Stadium.

E8 Conference Play: The Pioneers will also face eight Empire 8 Conference opponents (four at home, four on the road) this season. Utica finished fifth in the Conference last season with an overall record of 8-7 (4-4 Conference record). The Pioneers will begin Conference play on March 28 when they face Sage, who is new to the E8 this season. The Gators finished 5-10 in the Skyline Conference last year.

Home Field Advantage: In 2017, the Pioneers finished with a 5-3 record at home and were 3-4 in road games. UC went 2-2 in both home and away Conference games while finishing 2-1 at home against non-Conference opponents. The Pioneers outscored their opponents 90-68 at home last year.

Looking to Make It Seven Straight: Utica has at least eight or more wins in the last six seasons. They finished 8-7 in 2017, 9-7 in 2016, 9-6 in 2015, 10-6 in 2014, 9-6 in 2013 and 8-7 in 2012. The 10 win season in 2014 is still the most wins in a single season in program history.

Captains: The captains for the 2018 lacrosse season are senior Brooke Miller (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy), junior Katlyn Scarpinella (South Setauket, NY/Ward Melville) and sophomore Hali Vandermeulen (Walden, NY/Valley Central). Last season, Miller finished third on the team with 36 points (34 goals and two assists) in 14 games played. Scarpinella ranked second on the team last season with 41 points (27 goals and 14 assists). Overall, Scarpinella has 63 points with 44 goals and 19 assists in a two year span. Goalkeeper Hali Vandermeulen (Walden, NY/Valley Central) finished her freshman year on a high note last season as she had a team-best goals against average of 9.84. She also was second in the Empire 8 Conference with a save percentage of .486.

Chasing 100: Brooke Miller (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy) needs five points to become the 14^th player in UC women's lacrosse program-history to score 100 points. She currently has 95 career points with 76 goals and 19 assists and has played in every game in her career. Miller also goes into her senior season with 19 caused turnovers and 33 ground balls defensively.

Key Returner: After starting in 13 out of 14 games for the Pioneers last season, sophomore Hailee DuMont (Wilkes-Barre, PA/James M. Coughlin) returns for her second season. She had an impressive rookie campaign as she finished seventh on the team with 10 points (eight goals and two assists). DuMont was also a big contributor on defense as she caused 14 turnovers and scooped up 28 ground balls.

Returning Players: The Pioneers have 18 returning players from last year's team, which includes two of their four leading scorers; Brooke Miller (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy) and Katlyn Scarpinella (South Setauket, NY/Ward Melville). The returning attackers are Caroline Wiley (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro), Katie McDowell (Wynantskill, NY/Averill Park) and Kristi Pearage (Bear Creek Township, PA/James M. Coughlin). The midfielders are led by Hailee DuMont (Wilkes-Barre, PA/James M. Coughlin) and also consist of sophomore Devon Burri (Clifton Springs, NY/Midlakes), Chelsea Bauld (Rochester, NY/Odyssey), Natalie Capriglione (New Milford, CT/New Milford) and Noelle Capriglione (New Milford, CT/New Milford). The Pioneers also have six returners on defense including Kaleigh Dwyer (Denville, NJ/Morris Knolls), Emily Krezemein, Rebecca Loeza (Oceanside, NY/Oceanside), Samantha Marko (Saratoga Springs, NY/Schulerville), Maddie Behan (Syracuse, NY/Jamesville Dewitt) and Jessica Steinhilber (Plainview, NY/Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK). In goal, Hali Vandermeulen (Walden, NY/Valley Central) and senior Amanda Lupo (Auburn, NY/Skaneateles) return for Utica.

Incoming Players: The Pioneers have seven freshman, two sophomores and one junior joining the team this season. The rookies are Brittany Nowak (Eden, NY/Eden), Lauren Wolff (Peabody, MA/Peabody), Brianna Colley (Staten Island, NY/Petrides), Sydney Scaccia (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro), Gabrielle Dwyer (Morris Knolls, NJ/Morris Knolls), Hannah Nordstrom (Fairhaven, MA/Fairhaven) and Stephanie Husnay (Canastota, NY/Whitesboro). Sophomores Rebecca Brown (Steamboat Springs, CO/Norwich University) and Kaitlynn Palmer (Verona, NY/VVS) and junior goalkeeper Abigail Rogan (Clinton, NY/Clinton) all will start their first season as a Pioneer.

Coaching Staff: The Pioneers are coached by Kristin St. Hilaire with Robyn Carroll as her assistant. St. Hilaire is going into her 11^th season where she is the program's all-time winningest coach with 82 wins, including 35 Empire 8 Conference wins. Robyn Carroll enters her first season as the Pioneers assistant coach. Prior to joining Utica, she spent one season as an assistant coach at William Smith College.

2017 Season Recap: The Pioneers finished fifth in the Empire 8 Conference standings last season with a 4-4 Conference record and an 8-7 overall record. UC also had four players l make the Empire 8 Women's Lacrosse All-Conference team. Three All-Conference players have graduated, but Katlyn Scarpinella (South Setauket, NY/Ward Melville), who made the second team, returns.

Scouting SUNY Potsdam:  The Bears finished 3-12 and 0-8 in the SUNYAC Conference last season. One of three leading scorers will return as Cayla O'Connor finished third on the team with 22 points (14 goals and eight assists). Goalkeeper Katie Longamore also returns for the Bears where she had an 11.03 goals against average with 121 saves last season. SUNY Potsdam will play Clarkson on March 1 before hosting Utica on March 3.

Looking Ahead: After playing their season opener on the road, the Pioneers will return home on Wednesday March 7 to host Skidmore College. The game is scheduled for 5 p.m. at Charles A. Gaetano Stadium.