UTICA, NY- The Utica College women's lacrosse team moved one step closer to an Empire 8 Conference Tournament berth Wednesday as it downed visiting Hartwick College 12-8. Freshman
Stephanie Husnay (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) led all players with seven points on the day.
The Pioneers (8-5, 4-2 Empire 8) pick up a big win in the conference standings as they moved into a tie for third place with Nazareth College. Utica has two conference games remaining, the first of which will be Saturday at Naz (1 p.m.). After a mid-week non-conference contest against Canton, Utica will then take on Alfred University in the regular season finale on April 28.
Utica came out flying to start the game as the Pioneers scored five of the first six goals in the contest. After Hartwick scored two quick ones halfway through the first, the Pioneers scored four of the last five goals of the half to take a 9-4 lead after 30 minutes.
Even though Hartwick outscored Utica 4-3 in the second half, the Pioneers shut down the Hawks and did not allow a goal within the final four minutes of regulation.
Husnay extended her scoring streak to 11 games as she netted four goals and added three assists. The attacker now leads the team in assists (19) and points (42). Senior
Brooke Miller (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy) also pushed her scoring streak to 10 games as she finished with two goals and one assist. Miller now has 104 goals in her career, passing Courtney Wheeler '16 for seventh on the College's all-time goal scoring list.
Sophomores
Hailee DuMont (Wilkes-Barre, PA/James M. Coughlin) and
Kaitlynn Palmer (Verona, NY/VVS) each had two goals and
Noelle Capriglione (New Milford, CT/New Milford) and Lauren Wollf chipped in with one goal each. DuMont also led the Pioneers with five caused turnovers and four ground balls.
Natalie Capriglione (New Milford, CT/New Milford), meanwhile, had a team-high seven draw controls.
Hali Vandermeulen (Walden, NY/Valley Central) finished with 10 saves, including a couple of point-blank opportunities in the second half. This marked her fifth game this season with at least 10 saves.
