ROCHESTER, NY- For the second year in a row the Utica College women's soccer team advanced to the Empire 8 Conference Championship game as it downed host St. John Fisher College 1-0 in the conference semifinal Wednesday evening.
 
St. John Fisher controlled play to start the first half, but the Pioneers came on strong with more chances over the final 10 minutes.  Despite good looks by both squads, the teams went into halftime tied 0-0.
 
The second half was more of the same, but Utica finally broke the deadlock with 7:33 remaining in regulation as junior Emma Workman (Salt Lake City, UT/East) found the back of the net with her first of the year.  The Pioneers were awarded a free kick from 25 yards out.  With players jockeying for position in the box, Workman fired a shot that went around Fisher goalie Gabriella D'Ambrosio and tucked into the left-hand corner of the goal to put the Pioneers on top.  
 
Senior goalie Allison Wagner (Canandaigua, NY/Canandaigua Academy) made eight saves in net to pick up the shutout.  This marks the second year in a row that Wagner has posted a shutout in the conference semifinals.  Her clean sheet also helped her break both the career and single-season shutout records at UC.  Wagner now has 18 shutouts under her belt in 49 career games played, passing Pioneer Hall of Famer Ashley Kaufman.  Wagner also now has seven shutouts on the season, breaking the previous record held by Kaufman and Ashley Baker.  
 
With the win, Utica improves to 11-5-1 on the year.  11 wins in a season is the most by the Pioneers since 2006, when they also won 11 games.  UC will travel to Oneonta on Saturday to face No. 2 seeded Hartwick College.  Game time is scheduled for 5 p.m.