Utica, NY - The Utica College field hockey team is ready for a big weekend, as the Pioneers go on the road for an Empire 8 matchup against St. John Fisher on Saturday at 4 p.m. before returning home on Sunday to host Colby College at 12 noon.

Last time out: Utica is riding a two-game winning streak heading into this weekend. The team's last win came in an overtime thriller on Tuesday night against St. Lawrence, where the Pioneers scored four unanswered goals to come all the way back from a 3-0 deficit. This was the definition of a collective team effort, as seven Utica players etched their names in the scorebook with either a goal or assist. Junior Sydney Scaccia (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) started it all, posting the first Utica goal of the game in the second quarter. Senior Ricki Haab (Stowe, VT/Stowe) and sophomore Madeline Krecidlo (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) followed suit with goals in the third and fourth quarter to force overtime. The final goal of the game came on a decisive rebound goal from senior Fiona Shea (East Greenbush, NY/Columbia) to secure the Pioneers' win, 4-3. Junior Sabrina Whitehouse (Greenwich, NY/Greenwich) and senior Josie Sgarlata (Canastota, NY/Canastota) each added an assist in this contest.

Scaccia's offense: Junior Sydney Scaccia (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) is having a breakout year, as she leads the team with four goals while also adding two assists en route to a team-best 10 points. Scaccia has already topped her goal total from 2018, and is closing in on breaking her single-season points record of 13 from her freshman year.
 
Whitehouse's Consistency: Senior Sabrina Whitehouse (Greenwich, NY/Greenwich) currently sits right behind Scaccia with four points (one goal, two assists) this year. The 2018 second-team Empire 8 selection is the only Pioneer to record a point in five of the seven games thus far. Whitehouse holds a slight advantage over Scaccia, who has recorded a point in four games this season.

Defensive Prowess: The only other player on the roster besides Chamberlain to play all 436 minutes this year for the Pioneers is senior Makenzie Stevens (New York Mills, NY/New York Mills), who has served as the nucleus to the UC defensive unit all season.

Scouting St. John Fisher: The Cardinals currently sport a 4-1 record so far in 2019, with their sole loss of the season coming in their last game against the 14th-ranked Williams College last Sunday. Fisher is coming off a very successful 2018 campaign, where it finished the season 15-5 overall while making it all the way to the Empire 8 championship before falling to Stevens, 1-0.

Favorable History: The Pioneers have the upperhand when it comes to history, as they currently have an 8-4 all-time record against the Cardinals. These two teams have split the last two matchups. Fisher won both regular season games tover he last two seasons, but the Pioneers knocked the Cardinals out of the Empire 8 semifinals in 2017.

Scouting Colby: This marks the first time in program history Utica will play Colby College. The Mules play in the NESCAC, and they have put together a strong 4-1 start to the 2019 season. Colby's sole loss of the year came on the road against Tufts in a 3-2 nail biter. Last season the Mules finished the year with a 9-7 overall record, and their season came to a close in a 5-2 loss against Middlebury in the NESCAC quarterfinals.

Up Next: UC will have the next week off before hosting Sage on Saturday at 6 p.m. This will mark the Pioneer's third Empire 8 matchup of the season.