UTICA, NY -- The Utica College field hockey team wraps up its five game road trip to start the season as it opens Empire 8 Conference play at The Sage Colleges. The matchup will be the first-ever meeting between Utica and Sage, and it begins at 1 p.m. The game will be played at Ned Harkness Field on the campus of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Where We Sit: The Pioneers are currently 1-3 to start the season, and have dropped their last two matches heading into conference play. The Pioneers lost a 2-1 overtime heartbreaker at Ithaca College on Wednesday, before taking on one of the country's top teams in a 4-0 defeat at No. 12 Rochester.

Last Time Out: The Pioneers landed six shots on goal, three of them from senior Rylee Meelan (Clinton, NY/Clinton), but the Rochester offense powered their way to a 4-0 win at Fauver Stadium in Rochester.  Freshman Megan Chamberlain (Queensbury, NY/Queensbury) finished the afternoon with ten saves. Utica earned five penalty corner chances for the day.

Head of the Class: Utica's attack has been led by senior Rylee Meelan (Clinton, NY/Clinton), who has already totaled seven points on three goals and one assist through four games this season while also recording a team-high 21 shots. She needs just two more points to tie former midfielder Colleen Dowling's 67 career points, good for seventh on the all-time list at UC. Meelan already surpassed former four year starter Alaina Stojkovski in career shot attempts earlier this season for fifth in the program record book. She can also tie Stojkovski's 33 career goals with five more tallies this season which would also stand fifth at Utica all-time.

Veteran Presence: Of the seven players who have recorded a point this season for the Pioneers, six of seven are returning players from the 2017 roster. Meelan, Sabrina Whitehouse (Greenwich, NY/Greenwich), Josie Sgarlata (Canastota, NY/Canastota), Maria Orsino (Sauquoit, NY/Sauquoit), Jessica Belt (Webster, NY/Webster-Schroeder), and Joanna Gaertner (Schuylerville, NY/Schuylerville) all have posted at least one point this season after aiding Utica's run to last year's E8 title game.

On Target: Junior Kaitlynn Palmer (Verona, NY/VVS) currently ranks third on the team with five shots on goal. Impressively, all five of her shot attempts to start her rookie field hockey season at UC have landed on target. Palmer also currently stands third on the team in minutes played.

In Our Corner: While the Pioneers are no doubt looking for an offensive surge, one area where they have set the pieces in place to do so is in the penalty corner battle. Utica has been awarded 29 penalty corner chances to their opponents' 33, which can be indicative of a healthy balance in the possession game.

Into The Heat of Battle: Freshman goalkeeper Megan Chamberlain (Queensbury, NY/Queensbury) has been tested quite frequently during her maiden voyage on the team, as she currently stands third in the Empire 8 Conference at 9.25 saves per game. 

Clean as a Whistle: Through four matches, the Pioneers continue to maintain a sterling standard for clean play, as they have avoided receiving a single penalty card to start the season to this point.

About the Gators: In their first season of field hockey since the 1970s, the Gators are off to a 1-1 start as of Wednesday morning, and are fresh off their first victory of the program's re-emergence, a 10-0 rout of Dean College. The Gators will meet Elms College under the lights on Wednesday Night before Saturday's meeting with Utica. Freshman Sara O'Connor currently leads the Gators as of this writing with five points on two goals and an assist, and Samantha Marrish holds the distinction of the first goal of the program's resurgence in their opening 4-1 loss to Westfield State. Sage will also feature a few familiar faces, with Rome, NY natives Alicia Swavely and Makenna Barton on the roster, and they are coached by former Hamilton head coach Gillian McDonald.

Looking Ahead: The Pioneers will have their long-awaited home opener on Wednesday, September 19th at 5 p.m. as they host The College at Brockport.