UTICA, NY – The second-seeded Utica College field hockey team will travel to Rochester on Friday to face third-seeded Hartwick College in the Empire 8 Conference Tournament. The match will take place at St. John Fisher's Growney Stadium beginning at 2:30 p.m.
FOLLOW ALONG: Live video will be available at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/empire8/. Live stats can be tracked at https://athletics.sjfc.edu/sidearmstats/fhockey/summary. The matches can also be viewed through the free Empire 8 Conference apps available for AppleTV, Roku, and Amazon Fire devices.
THE FIELD: St. John Fisher is the top seed in this year's tournament and are undefeated in Empire 8 play at 7-1. Utica nabbed the second seed with a conference record of 6-1. Hartwick is 5-2 and holds the third seed, and Nazareth prevailed out of a three-way tie for fourth with a 4-3 conference record. There will be a new champion this year, with 2018 title winner Washington and Jefferson no longer in the hunt.
PAST SUCCESS: This is Utica's second tournament appearance in a three year period, with their last coming in 2017 at Washington and Jefferson. That season, the Pioneers progressed into the championship game with a 2-0 semifinal win over St. John Fisher, but lost in the title game to Washington and Jefferson by a 3-1 score. Assistant Coach Rylee Meelan (Clinton, NY/Clinton) scored the lone goal in that title game for Utica. The Pioneers still have six players to appear in that championship game on their roster, and five current Pioneers started that match. Utica is a four-time Empire 8 champion, with titles in 2006, 2012, 2013, and 2014. They are one of two programs to win three straight Empire 8 conference titles along with the recently departed Stevens Institute of Technology, who is no longer in the conference. The current iteration of the Pioneers has some ties to the most recent championship teams. Head coach Nikki Kieffer played on Utica's last three Empire 8 championship teams, and Sabrina Whitehouse's (Greenwich, NY/Greenwich) older sister Samantha Whitehouse was one of the team's goalkeepers in 2014.
LAST TIME OUT: The Pioneers had an impressive outing against Houghton on Saturday, winning their last conference match of the season by a final of 4-1. Utica dominated the match by outshooting Houghton 19-1. Sydney Scaccia (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro), Lexi Scaccia (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro), Joanna Gaertner (Schuylerville, NY/Schuylerville), and Jeslyn Files (Weedsport, NY/Weedsport) all scored for the Pioneers in the contest, building a 4-0 lead before spotting the lone Houghton goal with just over five minutes left.
LAST TIME AGAINST HARTWICK: On Saturday, October 26th, the Pioneers traveled down to Oneonta with the goal of securing the second seed in the Empire 8 playoffs. A goal at 9:09 of the first quarter by Sabrina Whitehouse (Greenwich, NY/Greenwich) set the early pace, with Hartwick evening the score in the final minute of the first half. A 1-1 deadlock remained on the board until 50:47, when Madeline Krecidlo (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) scored the goal that ultimately lifted the Pioneers to the win, and away from any late season uncertainty about the team's playoff seeding. Goalkeeper Megan Chamberlain (Queensbury, NY/Queensbury) made six saves. The Pioneers had nine penalty corners to Hartwick's three.
CONFERENCE LEADERS: Sabrina Whitehouse (Greenwich, NY/Greenwich) is ranked third in assists with eight and fourth in shots (78) and shots on goal (48). Sydney Scaccia (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) is ranked eighth in the conference in shots with 50 and ninth in shots on goal with 36. Makenzie Stevens (New York Mills, NY/New York Mills) leads the conference in defensive saves with nine.
TEAM LEADERS: Sydney Scaccia (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) leads the team with nine goals, four assists and 22 points on the year. Teammate Sabrina Whitehouse (Greenwich, NY/Greenwich) has seven goals, eight assists and 22 points too. Whitehouse leads the team in conference play with five goals and 14 points.
AT THEIR BEST WHERE IT COUNTS: In all games, Utica has averaged 1.88 goals per match to rank fifth in the Empire 8, and has conceded an average of 2.50 to rank sixth in the conference. In Empire 8 matches, the Pioneers are scoring an average of 2.42 goals per match to rank second in the Empire 8 conference. They rank third in goals allowed at 1.14. In conference play, Utica has outscored their opponents 17-8.
PROTECT THE NET: Sophomore Megan Chamberlain (Queensbury, NY/Queensbury) has been a brick wall in the net with 146 saves on the season, 23 of which came in conference play. This puts her sixth in the conference in goals against average at 2.409, and her 146 saves bumps her up to fourth in the conference. She is also ranked fourth in saves per game with an average of 8.11.
A BALANCING ACT: 10 Pioneers have scored at least one goal and recorded at least one assist this season.
SCOUTING HARTWICK: The Hawks are 11-6, and are led by Sydney Gagnon with 13 goals, four assists and 30 points on the season. Katie Meuse leads the team in assists with seven. Goalie Allyson Osbourne has 108 saves for the campaign.
THE SERIES: The Pioneers have matched up against Hartwick 19 times in school history. Utica holds a 10-9 edge all-time in those meetings. The longest winning streak in the series belongs to Utica, who won every year from 2010 to 2016.
WHAT'S NEXT: The winner of this contest will advance to the championship match on Saturday, November 9.
