UTICA, NY - The Utica College men's soccer team is gearing up for a pair of road games this week. On Wednesday, the Pioneers travel to Rochester, NY for a 7 p.m. game against St. John Fisher. Then on Saturday, October 16, UC will make the trip to Alfred University for a 1 p.m. game against the Saxons.
Follow Along: Live video and stats will be provided by St. John Fisher and Alfred. On Wednesday, fans can watch through
https://portal.stretchinternet.com/sjfc/ and/or follow along with live stats through
https://athletics.sjfc.edu/sidearmstats/msoc/summary. On Saturday, live video and stats can be found through
https://portal.stretchinternet.com/alfred/.
Last Time Out: The Pioneers welcomed the Nazareth Golden Flyers to Gaetano Stadium on October 9. Nazareth, who had won its last eight games by a combined score of 30-3 entering the contest, held a 2-0 lead with under 10 minutes remaining before
Jacob Sherline (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) netted his second goal of the season to cut the Flyers' lead in half. However, Nazareth fought off a pair of late attempts by Utica to preserve a 2-1 win.
The Skinny: At 4-5-1 overall and 1-2 in the Empire 8, UC's three conference points ties them with Fisher, Elmira and Sage for fifth in the standings. Five of Utica's last six games left on the schedule will be against conference opponents, meaning the Pioneers will have the opportunity to control its own postseason destiny without any outside help. UC is fifth in the E8 with a scoring margin of -0.18 (12 goals allowed, 10 goals forced) and find themselves fourth in the conference averaging 13 shots per game. However, the shots have yet to translate often as the team is tied for eighth averaging .909 goals per game. On the flip side, the Pioneers boast the second best save percentage in the conference, .797, and have allowed the second fewest goals in the Empire 8.
Surely, it's Sherline: Freshman
Jacob Sherline (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) took over as the team's leader in goals last Saturday after connecting for his second score of the season. Sherline's two goals have come on just three shots on goal and 10 shots overall through nine games played.
Still the One: Although the Pioneers fell to Nazareth last time out, goalkeeper
Foti Xidias (Carteret, NJ/Carteret) still played a phenomenal game against an offense that averages nearly 3.5 goals per game. His effort against Nazareth comes as no surprise as the sophomore has impressed all season by ranking third in the E8 allowing 1.061 goals per game and second with a .797 save percentage.
About Fisher: The Cardinals enter the game against Utica 2-5-2 overall and 1-1 in Empire 8 play, .5 games ahead of UC in the win/loss column. The Cardinals are seventh in the conference with a -0.89 scoring margin (17 goals allowed, nine goals forced) through nine games and have attempted the fewest shots in the E8, 87. Freshman Riley Rease is responsible for five of the team's nine goals as he is also tied for fourth in the conference in goals scored and seventh in the Empire 8 with 10 points. Keeper Jadon Schlierf owns a goals against average of 1.843 per game while ranking third in the conference with a .757 save percentage.
Scouting the Saxons: Alfred currently sits at 3-7-2 overall and 2-2 in the conference which places them third in the standings. The Saxons rank last in the E8 with a scoring margin of -1.58 (34 goals allowed, 15 goals forced) and are one of the most heavily penalized teams in the E8, leading the conference with 144 fouls, 27 yellow cards and two red cards. Kalum Holbrook leads the team with three goals scored and is one of 11 different Saxons to have scored this season. Keeper Daniel Koenig ranks last in the E8 with a 3.150 goals against average, is third with a .740 save percentage and tops the E8 with a mark of 7.13 saves per game.
Up Next: UC will host Keuka College at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, October 20. This is the first of two remaining home games for the Pioneers.
