UTICA, NY- The Utica College women's lacrosse team kicks off a busy week with back-to-back games on Monday and Tuesday.  The Pioneers will travel across town to face SUNY Poly on Monday before returning to the friendly confines of Charles A. Gaetano Stadium to host Oswego State on Tuesday. Both game are scheduled for 4 p.m.
 
Last Time Out: The Pioneers played their fifth game of the season against Medaille College last Wednesday, beating the Mavericks 20-8... 10 different players scored for Utica in the win... Freshman Lexi Scaccia (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) led the way with five goals and one assist, followed by Katlyn Scarpinella (South Setauket, NY/Ward Melville), Stephanie Husnay (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro), Hailee DuMont (Wilkes-Barre, PA/James M. Coughlin), Noelle Capriglione (New Milford, CT/New Milford), Sinead Bonner (Staten Island, NY/Curtis), and Jessie Biegel (Ridge, NY/Longwood) who each netted two goals... Junior Kaitlynn Palmer (Verona, NY/VVS), sophomore Lauren Wolff (Peabody, MA/Peabody), and senior Natalie Capriglione (New Milford, CT/New Milford), chipped in with one goal apiece...  Junior goalie Hali Vandermeulen (Walden, NY/Valley Central) made eight saves in the win.
 
That's a Good Start: Utica enters the week with a 4-1 record so far, marking the best start to a season in five years… UC is outscoring its opponents 69-40 through the first five games. 
 
Good Goalie: Junior Hali Vandermeulen (Walden, NY/Valley Central) was named the Empire 8 Goalie of the Week for the third time this season after she backstopped the Pioneers to a pair of wins last week… Vandermeulen is currently third in the E8 in goals against average with an 8.15 average... She is also fourth in the conference in save percentage (.533) and sixth in saves per game (8.00).
 
Super Scaccia:  Freshman Lexi Scaccia (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) picked up her second Empire 8 Player of the Week honor on Monday after she totaled eight goals and one assist in two games last week… Scaccia had three goals on seven shots and added a season-high 10 draw controls to lift Utica to a 16-7 win at Regis on Tuesday… She followed that up with five goals and one assist in a 20-8 rout of Medaille on Wednesday… On the season, she leads the Pioneers with 12 goals and she is third on the squad with 13 points. 
 
Leading The Way: Sophomore Lauren Wolff (Peabody, MA/Peabody) leads the conference with 2.00 assists per game and she is third in points per game (3.20)… She also has a team-high 16 points… Senior Katlyn Scarpinella (South Setauket, NY/Ward Melville) is second on the squad in goals (nine), assists (six), and points (15)… Her 3.00 points per game rank third in the E8.
 
Doing the Little Things: Junior Hailee DuMont (Wilkes-Barre, PA/James M. Coughlin) is tied for second in the Empire 8 with 2.40 caused turnovers per game… DuMont is also tied for second on the squad with nine goals so far… Katlyn Scarpinella (South Setauket, NY/Ward Melville) is fourth in the E8 with 2.20 caused turnovers per game, and Lexi Scaccia (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) leads the conference with 5.80 draw controls per game. 
 
Scouting SUNY Poly: The SUNY Poly Wildcats are 0-2 to start the season, coming off a 24-18 loss against Fredonia on March 3... Junior Kayla Prosinki has scored 13 goals so far this season, with sophomore Emily Somes has netted six goals this season as well.
 
Against SUNY Poly: Utica is 6-0 all-time against SUNY Poly… The last meeting between the two teams was in 2016, when the Pioneers won 16-4... Katlyn Scarpinella (South Setauket, NY/Ward Melville) had three goals, while Jessica Steinhilber (Plainview, NY/Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK) had one.
 
Scouting Oswego: The Oswego State Lakers have a 3-0 overall record and they are coming off a win against St. Lawrence by a score of 19-13 last Wednesday... Senior Brigid Regin scored six goals in the win, with sophomore Kamryn Sherman adding four goals to her credit.
 
Against Oswego: Utica is 3-5 all-time against Oswego with the Pioneers' first win coming in 2011... Last year, Oswego won 19-7… Brittany Nowak (Eden, NY/Eden) had two goals, while Kaitlynn Palmer (Verona, NY/VVS), Natalie Capriglione (New Milford, CT/New Milford), and Stephanie Husnay (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) each had one. 
 
Looking Ahead: The Pioneers will open up Empire 8 Conference play on Saturday as they host Stevens Institute of Technology… Game time is scheduled for 1 p.m.