UTICA, NY- The Utica College Women's Lacrosse team looks to get back on track Saturday as it faces Empire 8 opponent Houghton College. The game is scheduled to start at 1 p.m.
 
Last Time Out: The Pioneers fell to No. 20 Stevens 16-8 on the road last Saturday… Freshman Lauren Wolff (Peabody, MA/Peabody) led the way with three points (two goals and one assist) while Brooke Miller (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy) and Hailee DuMont (Wilkes-Barre, PA/James M. Coughlin) each netted two goals of their own... DuMont also caused a team-high three turnovers... Stephanie Husnay (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) scored two points with a goal and an assist and Noelle Capriglione (New Milford, CT/New Milford) scored her seventh goal of the season... Goalie Hali Vandermeulen (Walden, NY/Valley Central) made 13 saves in the loss.
 
Husnay and Miller Extend Scoring Streaks: Freshman Stephanie Husnay (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) currently has a nine-game scoring streak in which she has totaled 16 goals and 13 assists... Husnay is also ranked seventh in the Empire 8 in assists per game (1.18) and she continues to lead the team with 30 points (18 goals, 13 assists) on the year... Senior Brooke Miller (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy) has an eight-game scoring streak where she has scored 17 goals and added two assists... Miller is second on the team with 26 points (23 goals, three assists) this season and she needs one goal to become just the ninth player in program history to score 100 goals in a career.
 
Possession Game: Junior Natalie Capriglione (New Milford, CT/New Milford) leads the team with 35 draw controls and 19 caused turnovers… She is currently fifth in the Empire 8 with 3.18 draw controls per game and she ranks seventh in the conference with 1.73 caused turnovers... Natalie also is second on the team with 23 groundballs... Behind Natalie, Hailee DuMont (Wilkes-Barre, PA/James M. Coughlin) and Stephanie Husnay (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) both have 21 groundballs.
 
Saving the Team: Sophomore goalkeeper Hali Vandermeulen (Walden, NY/Valley Central) has four games this season where she has made over 10 saves, including her recent 13 save performance against Stevens. Vandermeulen is currently 5-5 in 10 starts this season... Her .481 save percentage ranks fourth in the E8... Vandermeulen also is fourth in saves per game (8.70).
 
Conference Standings: As the Pioneers are set to play their fifth Empire 8 Conference game of the season, they currently are tied with Houghton in fifth place at 2-2... Utica's losses are to two of the top three teams in the conference standings. 
 
Scouting Houghton: The Highlanders are currently 4-6 and 2-2 in the Empire 8 Conference with wins over Sage and Elmira and losses to Nazareth and Hartwick... Houghton is led by sophomore attacker Marissa Hews who has 21 points with 19 goals and two assists, and senior midfielder Alyssa Strom with 20 points (17 goals, three assists).
 
All-Time Against Houghton: The Pioneers are 5-0 against the Highlanders, dating back to their first meeting in 2013… In 2017, UC defeated Houghton 17-7 as Katlyn Scarpinella (South Setauket, NY/Ward Melville) scored three goals, Brooke Miller (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy) scored two goals and Noelle Capriglione (New Milford, CT/New Milford) netted one... Goalies Hali Vandermeulen (Walden, NY/Valley Central) and Amanda Lupo (Auburn, NY/Skaneateles) both saw action in net… Vandermeulen earned the win by not allowing a goal and making four saves while Lupo made three saves.
 
Looking Ahead: The Pioneers will stay home on Wednesday to face Hartwick in an Empire 8 Conference matchup.  Game time is scheduled for 4 p.m.