Utica, NY - The Utica College men's soccer team is just a few days away from kicking off its 2019 season, as the team is scheduled for an away match against SUNY Poly on Friday, August 30th at 6 p.m. The club returns to Gaetano Stadium for the home opener against SUNY Delhi on Sunday, September 1st at 1 p.m.

Follow Along: Live video and stats will be available for both matches this weekend. You can follow Friday's road match at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/polywildcats/. Sunday's home match against Delhi, and all Utica home matches can be found at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/utica/. The broadcast of Sunday's match will also be on the Empire 8 apps available through Roku, Amazon Fire TV, and AppleTV platforms. The apps make watching easier for fans who have those devices connected to their television, and will also routinely carry Utica's away matches against Empire 8 opponents. 

The Opening Weekend: Utica starts its season off the season right down the road against SUNY Poly. The Wildcats finished the season with a 6-9-3 overall record, with their first win of the season being a 2-1 decision against the Pioneers on opening night. They also return a wealth of talent and experience from last season, as all but two players will return for 2019. SUNY Delhi had one of its best seasons in program history in 2018, compiling a 13-2-1 overall record. The Broncos made it all the way to the American Collegiate Athletic Association finals, but saw their season come to a close in penalty kicks against Thomas More. This will be Utica's first meeting against Delhi.

All-Time Against SUNY Poly: The Pioneers are 23-11-3 all-time in matches against the Wildcats. They are 7-2 in the last nine meetings against their nearby neighbor, whose campus is distantly visible from Gaetano Stadium on a clear day. 

Tourney Time: The Utica College Invitational is set for the following weekend, with the Pioneers welcoming SUNY Cobleskill, SUNY New Paltz and Morrisville State. Be sure to come out to Gaetano Stadium for the four-team, two-day tournament on Sept. 8 and 9. The four participating teams will each play a pre-determined schedule of two opponents over the course of the weekend. 

Last Season: The 2018 Pioneers finished the season with a 5-12-1 overall record. A highlight of the season was a 2-1 road victory over the Nazareth Golden Flyers, who made it all the way to the Empire 8 championship before being bounced by the nationally ranked Stevens Ducks. The Pioneers also excelled in the classroom, as they were one of 20 Utica College athletics teams to accumulate a GPA of 3.0 or higher during the 2018-2019 academic school year.

Key Returners: While the Pioneers graduated eight seniors last year, they return three of their top five scorers from 2018. This year's offensive attack will be led by senior Thomas Muller (Camillus, NY/Bishop Ludden). The Camillus native totaled eight points in 2018 -- two goals and four assists -- which was good for second-most points on the team. Junior Patrick Hynes (Glenmont, NY/Bethlehem) and senior Tucker Marvin (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa) both totaled two goals and four total points in 2018, which was was good for fourth most on the team.

The Transfer Window: Forward Adnan Bakalovic (Utica, NY/Proctor High School) headlines this incoming recruiting class. The Utica native and Syracuse transfer returns to his hometown as a graduate student after playing four years for the Orange. Bakalovic recorded five career points -- three assists and one goal  -- at Syracuse, all of which came during his junior season. 

Rookie Rumblings: The incoming freshman class includes eight players. The Pioneers brought four freshman midfielders to campus in Hunter Guertin (), Connor McQuillan (), Jhonny Theze (), and Nick Webster (). A pair of backs also make the roster in the form of Roberto Torralba (), and Sean Weaver (). Vincenzo Tufo () and Brady Maloney () are the rookies up front. 

Experienced Netminding: Two-year starter Jonathan Side (Plattsburgh, NY/Plattsburgh) returns for his senior season in the net for the Pioneers. Side started 14 games his sophomore year, and split time with junior Randy Miksch (Lake Villa, IL/Warren Township) last season. Side posted a team-best goals allowed average the last two years, totaling a 1.23 in 2017 and 1.28 in 2018. The Potsdam native also finished last season with an impressive .815 save percentage.  In nine games last year, Miksch notched a 2.51 goals allowed average and a .709 save percentage.

Overtime Opus: The Pioneers saw their matches advance into extra time on four different occasions last season, and the quest for the optimal result was extended three times on home turf. The Pioneers won two of those matches as Alex Purcell (Lansing, NY/Lansing) struck gold in the 96th minute to hoist Utica past Cobleskill, and Colin McCarthy (Vestal, NY/Vestal) cleaned up a free kick attempt to wipe out a scoreless draw and get the winning result against the Albany College of Pharmacy, 1-0.

Looking Ahead: After this weekend's home-and-home, and next weekend's tournament, the Pioneer eleven remains on its home pitch for a non-conference pair against a pair of teams from the North Country. The Pioneers will meet Clarkson on Saturday, September 14th, at 6 p.m., and Potsdam the following Tuesday at 7 p.m. The home stand will be followed by the team taking to the road for their Empire 8 opener against Houghton. The conference match is set for Saturday, September 21st.