Utica, NY - The Utica College field hockey team is set to culminate its five-game road trip against Skidmore College on Wednesday at 4 p.m.

Last Time Out: The Utica College field hockey team clinched the No. 2 seed in the Empire 8 Conference tournament, as it downed host Hartwick College 2-1 in E8 play this past Saturday. The Pioneers got on the board at 9:09 of the first quarter when sophomore Madeline Krecidlo (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) cleaned up the garbage after a scramble in front of the Hartwick goal. Junior Sydney Scaccia (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) was credited with an assist on the play. The Hawks responded just before the end of the first half when Brooke Singer rocketed in a shot off a pass from Sydney Gagnon off a penalty corner to send the teams into halftime tied 1-1. Krecidlo put the game away in the 51st minute as she buried a feed from Sabrina Whitehouse (Greenwich, NY/Greenwich) for her seventh goal of the season. That was all the Pioneers needed as goalie Megan Chamberlain (Queensbury, NY/Queensbury) shut the door.  Chamberlain finished with six saves on the day, while her counterpart, Allyson Osbourne made seven saves in the loss.

Playoff Berth: Utica entered its last game tied with Hartwick for second place in the conference, as both teams showcased an impressive 4-1 E8 record. With the win, The Pioneers clinched the No. 2 seed in the Empire 8 tournament while moving to 7-9 overall and 5-1 in conference. This marks the second time in the last three years that UC has clinched an E8 tournament appearance.

Pioneers in the Postseason: Utica is chasing what would be its first NCAA Division III Tournament and Empire 8 championship since 2014. The Pioneers also took home the Empire 8 title and made an appearance in the Division III Tournament  in 2013 and 2014. This year marks the seventh time that Utica has qualified for the conference tournament over the program's 19-year history.

Coming In Hot: The Pioneers enter this contest winning five of their last seven, with four of these wins coming against Empire 8 opponents. The only two losses came at the hands of the the 15-2 Geneseo Knights and the NESCAC's Hamilton College.

Overtime Success: Three of Utica's last four victories have come in either overtime or a shootout. On the season, UC has notched four overtime victories while only dropping one.

Catching Fire: Whitehouse shares the team-high in points with 20 on six goals and eight assists this season. The 2018 second-team Empire 8 selection has also tabbed an impressive 12 points over a four-game span from October 5 to October 16. This performance propelled her to two consecutive E8 Offensive Player of the Week honors.

Scaccia's Offense: Sydney Scaccia (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) is having a breakout year, as she currently shares the top-spot in points with Whitehouse. Scaccia has accumulated a 20-point stat line on eight goals and four assists. This marks a historic season for Scaccia, as she has broken her single-season point and goal total.

Offensive Consistency: Scaccia and Whitehouse are the only Pioneers who have recorded at least one point in 10 of the team's 16 matches this year.

Chamberlain's Net: Sophomore goalie Megan Chamberlain (Queensbury, NY/Queensbury) remains atop the Empire 8 leaderboard in saves with 139, a spot she currently shares with Elmira's Tina O'Donnell. She is also second in saves per game with 8.69.

Defensive Specialists: Outside of Chamberlain, who has played all 1000 minutes for the Pioneers this season, senior Makenzie Stevens (New York Mills, NY/New York Mills) and junior Katherine LeRoy (Cicero, NY/Cicero-North Syracuse) lead the team in minutes played with 993 and 926, respectively. This duo has served as the nucleus of the Pioneer defense all season. Stevens is also ranked first in the Empire 8 in defensive saves with eight, which puts her atop the conference leaderboard and  sets single-season program record at Utica.

Scouting Skidmore: The Thoroughbreds sit at 11-7 this season while going 6-1 in the Liberty League thus far. This places them atop the conference leaderboard, a spot the currently share with Ithaca College. Skidmore has four players that have 17 points or more this season; Freshman Carrie Hughes leads the way with 21 points on seven goals and seven assists, while Junior Sarah Winters sits right behind her with 19 points on 11 goals and four assists Sophomores Mariah Redler and Gabrielle Vaccaro round out the top-four scoring group with 17 points on the season.

Recent History: The Pioneers are 4-14 all-time against the Thoroughbreds, but UC did win the matchup last season with a convincing 4-1 decision at home.

Up Next: UC returns home for its final match of the season against Houghton on Saturday at 4 p.m.