UTICA, NY- The Utica College women's lacrosse team will begin the 2019 season at home against Morrisville State College in a non-conference matchup at 1 p.m. this Saturday. This will be the first time that the Pioneers open up their season against the Mustangs. Utica owns a 2-3 record in its past five season openers.
 
2018 Season Recap: The Pioneers finished fourth in the Empire 8 Conference last season with a 5-3 conference record and a 10-7 overall record... They qualified for the Empire 8 conference tournament for the first time since 2006 but lost in the semifinal to the top-seeded Stevens Ducks, 19-8... Utica matched its single-season record for wins (10) and set a new program record for conference wins in a season.
 
Non-Conference Games: Utica will play nine non-conference opponents this season... Home non-conference games include SUNY New Paltz (March 2) and Oswego State (March 19)... The Pioneers non-conference road games will be played at SUNY Poly (February 27), Skidmore College (March 5), Clarkson University (March 9), Regis College (March 12), Medaille College (March 13) and SUNY Canton (April 23)... UC went 5-3 in non-conference play last season.
 
Empire 8 Conference Play: After a long streak of non-conference games, the Pioneers will play eight conference games to round out the season... Their four home conference games come against Stevens on March 23, Nazareth College on March 30, Alfred University on April 6 and Elmira College on April 20. Road conference games will be played at The Sage Colleges on March 27, St. John Fisher College on April 10, Hartwick College on April 17 and Houghton College on April 27.
 
Looking to Make It Eight Straight: Utica has had at least eight wins in each of the last seven seasons... The Pioneers finished 10-7 in 2018, 8-7 in 2017, 9-7 in 2016, 9-6 in 2015, 10-6 in 2014, 9-6 in 2013, and 8-7 in 2012... The 10 win season in 2018 ties the 2014 team for the most wins in a single season in program history.
 
How about Husnay?: Reigning Empire 8 Rookie of the Year, Stephanie Husnay (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) will help lead the Utica attack… Husnay was also a second team All-Conference and a 2018 Empire 8 All-Tournament team selection after she led the Pioneers and ranked sixth in the conference with 59 points (35 goals, 25 assists), making it the first time in 10 years that a freshman led the team in scoring… Husnay had at least one goal in 14 games, and she was held scoreless just once last season, ending the year on a 15-game scoring streak.
 
Play Like Palmer: Junior Kaitlynn Palmer (Verona, NY/VVS) was a first team All-Conference selection last season after she finished third on the team in goals (27) and fourth in points (34)... Palmer led the squad with 33 ground balls and was second in draw controls (55)...  She also caused 14 turnovers on the year...  18 of her points came in conference play.
 
Look Who's Back: Senior captain Katlyn Scarpinella (South Setauket, NY/Ward Melville) makes her long-awaited return to action in 2019… Scarpinella totaled 10 points (eight goals, two assists) in four games before being sidelined for the remainder of 2018 due to injury...  Scarpinella has totaled 73 points on 52 goals and 21 assists in her career.
 
Don't Cry Wolff: Sophomore Lauren Wolff (Peabody, MA/Peabody) finished third on the squad with 36 points (22 goals, 14 assists) last year... She was one of just two players to record over 10 assists on the season.
 
Locking Down the Midfield: The Pioneers return a veteran core of midfielders to help lead the way in 2019… Apart from Palmer and Scarpinella, junior Hailee DuMont (Wilkes-Barre, PA/James M. Coughlin) is back after she had a career-high 22 goals and 30 points one year ago… DuMont also led the Pioneers with 24 caused turnovers… Senior Natalie Capriglione (New Milford, CT/New Milford) started 16-of-17 games and led UC with 57 draw controls and chipped in with 20 goals… Senior Katie McDowell (Wynantskill, NY/Averill Park) had a break out year in 2018… McDowell played in all 17 games while recording a career-high 20 goals and 26 points… Noelle Capriglione (New Milford, CT/New Milford) will also be called upon as she totaled 16 goals and three assists in 15 games played last season. 
 
Big D: The Utica defense will by bolstered by its four returning starters from last year… Captain Jessica Steinhilber (Plainview, NY/Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK) and classmate Caroline Wiley (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) return for their senior seasons looking to cap off their careers on a high note… Sydney Scaccia (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) was an All-Conference honorable mention last year after she collected 27 ground balls and caused 14 turnovers in 17 games played… Junior Devon Burri (Clifton Springs, NY/Midlakes) also provides a calming presence on the back end… Burri started 16 games last season, while scooping up 12 ground balls and causing eight turnovers.     
 
In the Crease: Junior Hali Vandermeulen (Walden, NY/Valley Central) started all but two games between the pipes last season… She was third in the conference with 8.31 saves per game and finished fourth in save percentage (.470). … Vandermeulen, a two-year captain, ranks second all-time in career wins (15) and she is fourth all-time in career saves (205).
 
Supporting Cast: Brianna Colley (Staten Island, NY/Petrides), Hannah Nordstrom (Fairhaven, MA/Fairhaven), Brittany Nowak (Eden, NY/Eden), Emily Krzemein (Lancaster, NY/Lancaster), and Samantha Marko (Saratoga Springs, NY/Schulerville) will add to Utica's depth as all saw game action last season. 
 
Incoming Players: The Pioneers have 12 freshmen joining the team this season... Some of the rookies include midfielders Jessie Biegel (Ridge, NY/Longwood), Katherine Migliori (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy), Lexi Scaccia (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro), Kelsey Trainor (Wallkill, NY/Valley Central), Sinead Bonner (Staten Island, NY/Curtis), and Hannah Koster (Oswego, NY/Oswego)... Incoming attackers include Kristin Krieg (Schenectady, NY/Guilderland), Emily Rossi (Verona, NY/Vernon-Verona-Sherrill), and Addison Green (Marcy, NY/Whitesboro)... Freshman Ginamarie Pizza (Maywood, NJ/Bergen Tech) comes to UC as a defender while Claire Frier (Lafayette, NY/Lafayette) will be coming in as a goalie.
 
Coaching Staff: The Pioneers are coached by Kristin St. Hilaire with Mary Morgan Marafino as her assistant... St. Hilaire is entering her 12^th season as the Pioneers' head coach where she is the program's all-time winningest coach with 92 wins, including 40 Empire 8 Conference victories... Marafino enters 2019 in her first season as Utica's assistant... Marafino is a 2016 graduate of UC and played in 62 games for the Pioneers, scooping up 80 ground balls and causing 49 turnovers...  The everyday defender also finished with two goals, two assists and 20 draw controls.
 
Scouting Morrisville State College:  The Mustangs finished 12-8 overall with an 8-1 record in the NEAC last season... Morrisville captured the conference championship and advanced to the NCAA Division III Tournament before falling to Westfield State 17-12…Morrisville returns two of its top three leading scorers from last season in Courtney Cavellier and Jillian Hughes… Cavellier finished second on the squad with 73 points (61 goals, 12 assists) while Hughes totaled 48 points (32 goals, 16 assists) in 2018.
 
Looking Ahead: After playing their season opener at home, the Pioneers will travel across town on Wednesday, February 27 to take on nearby SUNY Poly... Game time is scheduled for 3 p.m.