UTICA, NY - The Utica College women's soccer team looks to remain unbeaten for a third consecutive match as they host Elmira College in an Empire 8 conference contest on Saturday, Sept. 22. In conjunction with the match, the Pioneers will be holding their annual Brain Cancer Awareness match in honor of Courtney Wagner. Opening kickoff is slated for noon.

Playing for Courtney Wagner: The Pioneers will be dedicating this match to Courtney Wagner. Courtney is the older sister of Utica goalkeeper Allison Wagner (Canandaigua, NY/Canandaigua Academy), 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 match is to promote cancer awareness and show support to all families that have been affected by this terrible disease.

Follow Along: Live video and stats will be available online for Saturday's match, and both can be found at portal.stretchinternet.com/utica/. Fans are also continually encouraged to use the Empire 8 Conference digital apps for watching live video of matches streamed by Empire 8 conference members. The apps offer a streamlined experience for viewing on your television, and are available free of charge for Roku, Amazon Fire, Apple TV, and Android TV platforms.

Where We Sit: Utica is currently 2-3-2 overall, and 0-0-1 in Empire 8 play after Wednesday evening. The Pioneers are currently in a four way tie for second with Nazareth, Houghton, and St. John Fisher. Hartwick and Stevens currently share first place at 1-0.

Last Time Out: The Pioneers posted their fourth match without a loss in their last five tries as they opened Empire 8 play with a 1-1 draw against Nazareth on Wednesday. The Pioneers were the first to strike after a lengthy stalemate as sophomore Kierra Caissey (Gardner, MA/Gardner) netted her third goal of the season on a penalty kick in the 79th minute, but Nazareth responded in the 84th minute to force extra time. Both teams went the extra time distance without a goal to generate the 1-1 tie. Goalkeeper Allison Wagner (Canandaigua, NY/Canandaigua Academy) was sensational with eleven saves on twelve Nazareth shots to reach the net mouth as Utica was outshot on goal by a 12-8 margin.

I Just Felt Like Running: In Wednesday's 110 minute draw, the Pioneers left seven players in the entire match without replacement. Allison Wagner (Canandaigua, NY/Canandaigua Academy), Emma Workman (Salt Lake City, UT/East), Summer Gagnon (Manchester, NH/Manchester), Annalisa Macphee, Kierra Caissey (Gardner, MA/Gardner), Carly Craft (Ellenville, NY/Ellenville), and Amanda Thut (Carmel, NY/Carmel) all went the distance for Utica in the match.


Burning Twine: Utica's offense is presently paced by sophomore midfielder Kierra Caissey (Gardner, MA/Gardner), who now holds a team-best three goals this season. She is currently in a tie for sixth place on the Empire 8 conference goal scoring leaderboard.

Life of Reilly: Senior Abby Reilly (Brookfield, NY/Brookfield) stands second on the team with two goals, and needs just one more to stand level with her 2017 season total of three. A third goal would match a career high set during her freshman and junior seasons.

Saving the Day: Junior keeper Allison Wagner (Canandaigua, NY/Canandaigua Academy) has been extraordinarily difficult to score on this season. The Utica backstop leads the Empire 8 conference with 68 saves, and averages over nine saves per match at this point in the season. Utica has allowed a goal or less in four of their last five matches and are 2-1-2 in that span.

Hungry for A Second Goal: Transfer student Mikayla Blumenstock (Poland, NY/Poland) netted her first career goal in the loss to Potsdam last Friday, and she's been inching closer and closer to a second one ever since. Blumenstock has led the Pioneers in shots on goal in each of the last three matches, and has seven total over that span.

Green Means Go: Utica has rarely had to contend with any booking trouble this season on the pitch, as they have amassed a miniscule two yellow cards in their first seven matches, and the Utica side has not recorded a red card.

Recently Against Elmira: The Pioneers have claimed victory in the last two meetings with Elmira, and have won those two meetings by a combined 7-1 score. Last season Utica pulled out a 3-0 win on the road at Campus Field. All three Utica scores were tallied by returners as Gabrielle Esposito (Rotterdam, NY/Mohonasen), Kierra Caissey (Gardner, MA/Gardner), and Jenna Mazza (Frankfort, NY/Sauquoit Valley) all hit paydirt, and Allison Wagner (Canandaigua, NY/Canandaigua Academy) needed just four saves to handle the rest in Pioneers territory.

About Elmira: The Soaring Eagles currently stand at 2-4-1 this season under the direction of head coach Kaitlyn Mallernee. Their last match was a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Hartwick to open Empire 8 play as the deciding score was recorded in the ninth minute. Meghan Ray and Gabe Carmona combined for eleven saves in the loss. For the season, Taylor Hanson sets the tempo for Elmira with five goals, which stands third in the Empire 8 conference. Hanson is currently the Empire 8 Offensive Player of the Week.

Up Next: Utica will be back in non-conference action at Gaetano Stadium on Wednesday as they welcome Cazenovia. The match begins at 4 p.m.