Utica, NY - The Utica College men's soccer team is set to host Elmira in an Empire 8 Conference matchup this Saturday at 3 p.m. This marks the team's third E8 contest of the season.

Follow Along: Live video and stats will be available at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/utica/. The broadcast of Saturday's match will also be on the Empire 8 apps available through Roku, Amazon Fire TV, and AppleTV platforms. The apps make watching even easier for fans who have those devices connected to their television, and will also routinely carry Utica's away matches against Empire 8 opponents. The apps are available free of charge.

Last Time Out: The Utica College men's soccer team fell to 6-2-2 on the year with a 4-0 loss on the road against Hamilton on Wednesday night.  This marked the first loss in nearly a month for the Pioneers, as the last time they dropped a match was on September 7 against Morrisville State in overtime. Junior goalie Randy Miksch (Lake Villa, IL/Warren Township) matched his career-best in saves with 12, a mark he last met on October 8th of last year against Middlebury.

Conference Leaders: Senior Adnan Bakalovic (Utica, NY/Proctor High School), junior Patrick Hynes (Glenmont, NY/Bethlehem) and freshman Jhonny Theze (Bronx, NY/Claremont International) are all currently tied for fourth in the Empire 8 in assists with four each. Theze is also tied for fifth in goals with four and sixth in total points with 11.

Top 3: As a team, Utica ranks in the top three both offensively and defensively in the Empire 8. Tremendous back-line play combined with a breakout season from junior Randy Miksch (Lake Villa, IL/Warren Township) in the net has left the Pioneers with the fourth-best defense statistically, allowing only 12 goals over 10 games thus far. UC is also tied for third offensively with 15 goals.

Clean Sweep: The Pioneers swept Empire 8 accolades last week, with Miksch taking home Defensive Player of the Week honors while Theze was awarded Offensive Player of the Week. Over a three-game span, Miksch allowed only on goal en route to leading the Pioneers to two victories. Theze was also a key contributor in these wins as well, posting the lone goal against SUNY ESF on a penalty kick and then adding another goal and two assists in a 3-1 victory over Fisher on Saturday.

Quiet Contributions: Outside of Miksch, who has played all 945 minutes in the net this year, midfielder Patrick Hynes (Glenmont, NY/Bethlehem) leads the team in minutes played with 869. The only other player to record 800-plus minutes is junior defender Daniel Varsames (Gansevoort, NY/Saratoga Springs), who has 801 total minutes on the field this season.

Even Matchup: Elmira also has a 6-2-2 overall record this year, and has won four of its last five heading into this contest. The Eagles have allowed only nine goals this year, which is tied for a league best, while sitting second in the league offensively with 17 goals.

Chasing History: A win Saturday afternoon would mark the first time since 2010 and the second time in program history the Pioneers finished with seven or more wins over their first 11 games.

Up Next: The Pioneers have one day off before they go back on the road to play Purchase College on Monday at 6 p.m.