Utica, NY - The Utica College women's soccer team is set to return to the Empire 8 Championship for the second year in a row on Saturday night at 5 p.m. against the second-seeded Hartwick Hawks.

All Roads Lead Here: Utica advanced to the finals with an opening-round win over the top-seeded St. John Fisher on the road Wednesday night. The Cardinals 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 at zero. 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.

Win Record: With the opening-round win, Utica improves to 11-5-1 on the year. Eleven wins in a season is the most by the Pioneers since 2006, when they also won 11 games. 

Chasing History: This marks the second year in a row and only the third time in program history the Pioneers will make an Empire 8 championship appearance. Utica has never won a conference championship in its 27-year program history.

Collective Effort: Seven different players have now recorded at least one goal for the Pioneers this season, and 14 players have recorded at least one point. 

Conference Leaders: The Pioneers have numerous representatives that currently rank in the top 10 of various statistical categories in the Empire 8. Mikayla Blumenstock (Poland, NY/Poland) is the most prevalent name, as she currently sits atop the points leader board with 46. The senior also has a conference-best 22 goals while also adding two assists. Junior Kierra Caissey (Gardner, MA/Gardner) is right behind Blumenstock, as she holds the No. 6 conference spot in points with 15 and is fifth in goals with seven. Freshman Eliza Ericson (Beacon, NY/Beacon) has accumulated five assists this season, which puts her at third in the conference, and junior Summer Gagnon (Manchester, NH/Manchester) sits right behind her with three.

Brick Wall: Allison Wagner (Canandaigua, NY/Canandaigua Academy) has continued her stellar career as a Pioneer during her senior campaign, as she is ranked second in the E8 in save percentage (.875) and third in both saves (112) and saves per game (7.0). Wagner also tabbed a season-high 20 saves against Hamilton earlier this year, which is the single-game high in the Empire 8 all season
High-Powered Offense: UC has done a great job offensively this season, as it currently has one of the top-ranked offenses in the Empire 8. The Pioneers have totaled 99 points on 37 goals and 25 assists, which makes them the second highest-scoring offense in the conference.

Defensive Prowess: Outside of Wagner, junior Amanda Thut (Carmel, NY/Carmel) and senior Summer Gagnon (Manchester, NH/Manchester) currently lead the team in minutes played with 1477 and 1445, respectively. Both of these defenders have served as the core of the Pioneer's backline all season.

Playoff Hunt: The Pioneers just barley snuck into the conference tournament this season, as they were awarded the fourth and final seed with a win over Elmira last week. Utica was tied with Houghton heading into this game for the No. 4 spot in the conference, and Houghton also topped Alfred the same day by a score of 1-0, but UC held the tiebreaker by way of a 3-0 victory over the highlanders earlier in the season. This left them both with 10 points to end the year, but Utica received the playoff nod due to holding the tiebreaker.

History: The Pioneers currently hold a 6-14 overall record against the Hartwick Hawks since the teams first started playing each other in 1999. The matchup has been as even as it could get as of late: Utica won both matchups in 2018, one of which came on penalty kicks in the opening round of the E8 tournament, while Hartwick took home the match earlier this season by a score of 2-0 at Gaetano Stadium.

Scouting Hartwick: The second-seeded Hartwick Hawks topped the third-seeded Nazareth Golden Flyers by a score of 1-0 on Wednesday night to advance to the Empire 8 championship. The lone goal in this match came from junior Zoe Capanna for her second of the season. Senior Tanner Reed spearheads this Hartwick offensive attack, as she currently leads the team with 15 points on six goals and three assists. Junior Gabrielle Kreppein is the only other Hawk with 10-plus points, posting an 11 points this season on four goals and three assists.

Up Next: The winner of Saturday's contest will earn an automatic bid into the 2019 NCAA tournament.