UTICA, NY - The Utica College women's lacrosse team will look to build off their 2-0 record when they play Clarkson University on Saturday in a non-conference showdown. The two teams will meet at 3 p.m. in Potsdam, NY for Utica's first road game of the season.

Last Time Out: The Pioneers played their second game of the season against New Paltz last Friday, beating the Hawks 10-9.  Six different players found the back of the net for the Pioneers in the win. After sophomore Stephanie Husnay (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) scored Utica's first goal, the goals kept pouring in for the Pioneers in a flying 5-1 start. The Hawks responded with a run of five unanswered goals of their own to make it 6-5, but the Pioneers scored the next three goals to restore order as they later held off the Hawks for a 10-9 win. Freshman Lexi Scaccia (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) and junior Kaitlynn Palmer (Verona, NY/VVS) each netted three goals for the Pioneers. Freshman Jessie Biegel (Ridge, NY/Longwood), junior Hailee DuMont (Wilkes-Barre, PA/James M. Coughlin) and senior Katlyn Scarpinella (South Setauket, NY/Ward Melville) all added one goal a piece for the Pioneers as well.

At Home: The Pioneers have won their last five home games, and have also snagged wins in seven of their last ten dating back to last year. 

On The Road: The Pioneers are in a scheduled early season road stretch that lasts until March 19th, when the Pioneers host Oswego. Utica was 4-4 on the road last season in eight road contests. 

Snow, Snow, Go Away: While the Pioneers are undoubtedly well-rested, two of the team's games at Skidmore, and at SUNY Poly have been postponed already and could create a denser schedule later on in the season.

Goaltender Goals: Junior Hali Vandermeulen (Walden, NY/Valley Central) was named the Empire 8 Goalie of the Week for the second time in as many weeks on Monday as she made seven saves to help preserve a one goal win over New Paltz. She stopped 7 of 8 in her previous goaltender of the week performance against Morrisville as well. Vandermeulen is coming off of a season where she was third in the Empire 8 Conference in saves per game, averaging 8.31 last season. In the first two games of the season, Vandermeulen is averaging seven saves per game and is stopping 66.7 percent of the shots that have come her way so far.

Twice As Nice: The Pioneers have gotten off to a 2-0 start for the first time since 2013. The 2013 edition of the Pioneers started 4-0 and fell just short of an Empire 8 tournament berth. Current Utica assistants Mary Morgan Marafino and Julia Primps were part of that year's team.

Player of the Week: Freshman Lexi Scaccia (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) was named the Empire 8 Conference Player of the Week on Monday. Scaccia scored three goals and added an assist, and nabbed the game-winning goal in the second half of action to give Utica the one goal win. She seized four ground balls, controlled six draws, and caused three turnovers.

In The Free and Clear: The Pioneers are holding their opponents to just a 49 percent clearing percentage so far this season, while clearing the ball themselves at over 70 percent.

No Senioritis: Graduation may be at hand soon, but a tested senior class has already demonstrated that they're just as committed to taking this team to the highest heights they can.  Katlyn Scarpinella (South Setauket, NY/Ward Melville) has netted three goals so far this season for the Pioneers while Katie McDowell (Wynantskill, NY/Averill Park) has totaled two goals for the Pioneers in the young season.

Rookie Ramblings: Four Utica freshmen have already collected the first goal of their career as Jessie Biegel (Ridge, NY/Longwood) and local products Addison Green (Marcy, NY/Whitesboro), Emily Rossi (Verona, NY/Vernon-Verona-Sherrill), and Lexi Scaccia (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) have all gotten themselves on the board.

Ranking in the E8: Lexi Scaccia (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) and Kaitlynn Palmer (Verona, NY/VVS) have both ranked in the E8 conference with  an average of 2.0 goals per game. Three Utica players have ranked in the E8 conference in assists per game, Katlyn Scarpinella (South Setauket, NY/Ward Melville) (2.50 per game), Lauren Wolff (Peabody, MA/Peabody) (2.00) and Stephanie Husnay (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) (1.50). Scarpinella is also ranked third in the conference in points per game with an average of 4.0. Lexi Scaccia (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) is ranked second in the conference for draw controls with an average of 5.50 per game. Hailee DuMont (Wilkes-Barre, PA/James M. Coughlin) is ranked second in the conference in caused turnovers per game with an average of 3.00.

Last Year Against Clarkson: The Golden Knights scored a 12-8 win over Utica last season at Gaetano Stadium. Utica rallied with seven goals in the second half after falling behind 7-1 in the first half, but the comeback trail was stopped just short. Natalie Capriglione (New Milford, CT/New Milford) put on the best performance of her career in that game with six goals.

Recent History: Clarkson has won the last three games of the series, with Utica's last win coming in 2015 by a 12-10 margin. Megan Kane had five of her 147 career goals in that matchup.

Scouting Clarkson: The Golden Knights are 0-1 on the season, dropping their only game of the season at home to Oswego State 16-14 last Friday. Sydney Roderick, Aubrey Borgesi and Emma Andrews combined for nine of Clarkson's 14 goals in their lone game of the season. Andrews and Roderick also added an assist each to their stat sheets.

Looking Ahead: The Pioneers will travel to Weston, MA following their matchup with Clarkson to take on Regis College on Tuesday, March 12.