Utica, NY - The Utica College men's soccer team is set to head back on the road for its final away match of the season against E8 opponent Alfred.

Last Time Out:  The Utica College men's soccer team dropped to 9-5-2 on the season in a non-conference loss to Hobart by a score of 3-0 on Tuesday night. The Statesmen set the tone early on in this contest, with goals from Kyle Mangold in the 18th minute, Juan Widoycovich in the 20th, and then Binjo Emmanuel in the 22nd off a penalty kick. This four-minute time span would showcase the only scoring of this match, as neither team was able to find the back of the net for the rest of the game. Utica's sophomore goalies Nick Spooner (Lisbon, NY/Lisbon) and Chris Rosato (Roxbury, CT/Nonnewaug) combined for three saves on the night. This was also Rosato's debut in the net for the Pioneers, and he held Hobart scoreless in the second half.

Chasing First: The Pioneers currently boast an impressive 9-5-2 overall record and are 2-2-1 in the Empire 8, which leaves them tied for second overall with Elmira. The Nazareth Golden Flyers hold the top spot in conference with a perfect 3-0-1 E8 record, three points more than the second-placed Utica and Elmira.

Historic Start: UC made history two weeks ago with a 1-0 win over Purchase, notching eight wins in the first 12 games for the first time since 2010 and only the second time in program history. The win over Berkeley on the following Wednesday marked the best start to a season in program history, as the Pioneers won nine of their first 13 games for the first time ever.

Wins Record: The most successful season in program history came in 2012, where the Pioneers notched a program-record 12 wins in the regular season. With two games left in the season, the 2019 Pioneers have a chance to finish the season with 11 wins, which only happened one other time in 2011. UC still has a chance to either break or tie the single-season win record, depending on how it fares in postseason play.

Conference Leaders: Freshman Jhonny Theze (Bronx, NY/Claremont International) is currently tied for third in the league in goals with seven, and he also shares the No. 6 spot for assists with junior Patrick Hynes (Glenmont, NY/Bethlehem) with four each thus far. Senior Adnan Bakalovic (Utica, NY/Proctor High School) sits one spot ahead of Theze and Hynes with five assists. Theze also has the third-most points in the E8 as well with 18, making him the only Pioneer to appear in the top 10 of this statistical category.

High Octane Offense: The Pioneers have the second highest-ranked offense in the league, as they have tabbed 72 points on 25 goals and 22 assists this season.

The Clutch Gene: Four Pioneers rank in the top 10 of the E8 in game-winning goals this season: Theze is tied for first with three, and senior Tucker Marvin (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa) is right behind him with two. Hynes and senior Andrew Ruyack (Chester, NY/Monroe Woodbury) have also notched one as well.

Even History: The history between these two teams is pretty much as even as it could get, as the Pioneers currently have a 8-9-1 all-time record against the Saxons since they first started playing each other in 2001. UC dominated the matchup from 2007 to 2014, posting an impressive 8-0-1 against Alfred during this seven-year span.

Time Management: Hynes currently leads the team in minutes played with 1301, while junior Daniel Varsames (Gansevoort, NY/Saratoga Springs) and freshman Nick Webster (Maple Valley, WA/Tahoma) sit right behind him with 1283 and 1220 minutes, respectively.

Scouting Alfred: The Saxons have accumulated an overall record of 5-10 while going 1-3 in the Empire 8 thus far. Freshman Justin Eaton leads Alfred offensively with a team-high 12 goals while also adding one assist. Junior Zachary Gloskin has done a little bit of everything this year for the Saxons, as he has notched a team-best five assists while also finding the back of the net three times.

Up Next: The Pioneers return home for senior day and their final game of the season next Saturday at 1 p.m. against Hartwick.