UTICA, NY- The Utica College women's lacrosse looks to build off last season's successes, as it opens its 2020 slate at New Paltz in a 1 p.m. contest on Saturday.
 
Last Season in Review: The 2019 season was a record breaking one for the Pioneers, as they set new single-season records for wins (13) and conference wins (6). They also picked up their highest conference tournament seed, earning the second spot after going 6-2 in the Empire 8, 13-4 overall. Utica's only losses of the regular season came to strong teams out of Rochester, falling to Nazareth and nationally-ranked St. John Fisher.
 
Guiding the Way: Head Coach Kristin St. Hilaire is entering her 13^th season on the sidelines for the Pioneers. St. Hilaire has accumulated a 105-79 record over her time at Utica, and saw seven student-athletes to All-Conference honors last season, picking up a Coaching Staff of the Year title in the process. Mary Morgan Marafino will return for her second season as an assistant coach, after having graduated from UC in 2016, having served as the assistant coach at Johnson and Wales University during the 2018 season.
 
Leading Others: Seniors Hali Vandermeulen (Walden, NY/Valley Central), Devon Burri (Clifton Springs, NY/Midlakes) and Hailee DuMont (Wilkes-Barre, PA/James M. Coughlin), along with graduate student Katlyn Scarpinella (South Setauket, NY/Ward Melville) have been chosen to lead their squad as captains for the upcoming season. No stranger to this role, Vandermeulen and Scarpinella served as captains during the 2019 season as well.
 
Class of 2020: The lacrosse program will graduate six student-athletes following the conclusion of their season. Vandermeulen, Burri, DuMont, Scarpinella, Maddie Behan (Syracuse, NY/Jamesville Dewitt) and Kaitlynn Palmer (Verona, NY/VVS) will all be playing in their final collegiate season. In goal, Vandermeulen set program records for most wins in a season (12) and career-wins (27).
 
Freshman Class: UC has brought in six new faces for the 2020 campaign; Reva Mussi (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool), Mackenzie Keane (Newfoundland, NJ/West Milford), Cameron Boehlert (Utica, NY/Whitesboro), Megan Hourican (Staten Island, NY/Curtis), Samantha DeCondo (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) and Daniela Muscari (Millbrook, NY/Millbrook).
 
What to Watch For: The Pioneers are returning their top-8 scorers in Palmer, Scarpinella, DuMont, Lexi Scaccia (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro), Lauren Wolff (Peabody, MA/Peabody), Stephanie Husnay (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro), Jessie Biegel (Ridge, NY/Longwood) and Addison Green (Marcy, NY/Whitesboro), who combined for 268 of the squad's 368 points last season.  Palmer, who was astonishing at midfield, led her squad in goals with 42, while she added seven assists for 49 points. Scarpinella was an assist machine, totaling 48 points from 28 goals and an impressive 20 assists.  The pair combined for 97 points, 70 goals and 27 assists, accounting for nearly 30 percent of the squad's offensive numbers.
 
Palmer and Scarpinella were joined on the 2019 Empire 8 All-Conference list by; L. Scaccia, DuMont, Vandermeulen, Burri and Sydney Scaccia (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro), all returners.
 
Rookies DeCondo and Muscari look to fill voids left by last season's graduating class. The former is said to be a strong attacker with great stick skills and high lacrosse IQ, she is expected to be a constant threat with the ball. The latter is an all-around athlete who should fit seamlessly into the already existing defensive system.
 
Guarding the House: Vandermeulen rounded out a record-breaking season with a .559 save percentage, good enough to rank her fifth in the country. The Walden, NY native was fourth in the conference with a goals against average mark of 8.10. For her efforts, she picked up Empire 8 All-Conference Second Team honors, adding IWLCA All-Empire Region and ECAC All-Region accolades to list. Vandermeulen picked up five Empire 8 Goalie of the Week awards last season alone.
 
Post Season Potential: The Pioneers will look for their third-straight Empire 8 Tournament appearance, having locked up the second-seed last season. UC matched up with third-seeded Stevens, who has since left the conference, in the opening round. The Ducks were able to advance to the E8 Title game thanks to an 11-6 win over the Pioneers, just to be upended by then-No. 12 Fisher, 14-4. Palmer led her squad with three points on a hat trick. Vandermeulen was able to record 14 saves in the loss, marking her eighth game with 10-plus saves on the season.
 
Looking Ahead: UC will spend nine contests on the road in the upcoming 2020 schedule, kicking off at New Paltz on Saturday. Four of the away contests will take place at fellow Empire 8 competitors. The home slate will feature three conference matchups out of six games total. The home-opener will take place on March 4, as the Pioneers host the SUNY Canton Roos for a 4 p.m. start time. E8 competition will begin at home on March 21^st, slated for a 12 p.m. start time with the Houghton College Highlanders.  
 
Kicking it Off: Utica will hit the road for its first contest of the season, set to take place with New Paltz at 1 p.m. on Saturday.