UTICA, NY - The Utica College field hockey team starts the final week of the regular season before entering the Empire 8 Conference Tournament next week. On Wednesday, UC will host Skidmore College at 4 p.m. before traveling to Elmira on October 30 for a 2 p.m. battle to close out the season. 

Live Coverage: Video and stats for Wednesday's game will be provided through https://portal.stretchinternet.com/utica/ while Elmira will also provide live video and stats on Saturday through https://portal.stretchinternet.com/elmira/. 

Last Time Out: Last week UC put on a show by taking down Houghton College 8-2. Forward Sabrina Whitehouse (Greenwich, NY/Greenwich) put on a performance earning herself a hat trick on the night. Midfielder Shannon Jedreicich (Deer Park, NY/Half Hollow Hills East) came through with a pair of goals, scoring early and late in the game. Forward Sydney Scaccia (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) also came away with two goals. Midfielder Kennedy Guy (Glens Falls, NY/Glens Falls) scored the last goal of Saturday's game for what was the first goal of her career as a Pioneer. 

Raining Goals: The Pioneers currently hold high ranking positions in the Empire 8 leaderboards this season. Four players hold the top five positions for most goals, one of whom being Sabrina Whitehouse (Greenwich, NY/Greenwich) with 15 goals for an average of 1.25 goals per game. Forward Madeline Krecidlo (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) is right behind her teammate in second with 13 goals. Sydney Scaccia (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) is fourth in the E8 with 12 and in fifth is Shannon Jedreicich (Deer Park, NY/Half Hollow Hills East) with nine. As a team, Utica holds the top spot in the conference for goals this season, 63, which is 18 goals ahead of second place. 

Playmakers: Three players hold the top-three positions in assists this season in the Empire 8. Midfielder Jeslyn Files (Weedsport, NY/Weedsport) leads the E8 with 10 assists this season and her teammates, Mackenzie Mix (Camden, NY/Camden) and Sydney Scaccia (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro), are tied for second with nine assists each. Sabrina Whitehouse (Greenwich, NY/Greenwich) also has her name thrown in the hat, ranking 10th in the conference with five assists to her credit. As a team, Utica ranks first in the Empire 8 in assists this season with 47, 20 more assists than second place. 

Points, Points, Points: Four players are currently within the top-five for most points in the E8 this season. Sabrina Whitehouse (Greenwich, NY/Greenwich) leads the league with 35 points (15 goals, five assists) while Sydney Scaccia (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) sits in third with 32 points on 11 goals and 10 assists. Madeline Krecidlo (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) is right behind Scaccia in fourth with 29 points while Shannon Jedreicich (Deer Park, NY/Half Hollow Hills East) rounds out the top-five with 24 points. 

It's Sabrina's House: Sabrina Whitehouse (Greenwich, NY/Greenwich) has been making waves since she joined the team in 2017. Whitehouse is only four points away from having 100 career points, which would make her the fourth player in program history to reach 100 career points. Currently she also holds sixth place in Utica College history for goals with 36, just behind former teammate and current assistant coach, Rylee Meelan, who ended with a career total of 43.
 
History with Skidmore: The last time UC clashed with Skidmore was in 2019 which ended with the Thoroughbreds shutting out the Pioneers, 6-0. Utica last defeated Skidmore in 2018, 4-1, in a game where Sabrina Whitehouse (Greenwich, NY/Greenwich) totaled two assists in the win. Skidmore enters Wednesday's game on a three-game winning streak including back-to-back shutout wins over Union College and Ithaca College. 

History with Elmira: Due to COVID-19 the last time the Pioneers and Soaring Eagles met was in 2019. In that matchup, Utica traveled to Elmira for an intense battle that went into a shootout. UC ended up coming away with the win 2-1. Sydney Scaccia (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) was able to fire a shot from out front to tie up the game in the third quarter and it was Sabrina Whitehouse (Greenwich, NY/Greenwich) who ended the game in the shootout. The Pioneers have taken each of the last seven meetings against Elmira dating back to 2013. 

Up Next: After Saturday's game against Elmira the Pioneers will prepare for the Empire 8 Conference Tournament. UC is set to travel to Oneonta, NY to battle Hartwick College for the right to advance to the Empire 8 Conference Championship. Time of the game is TBD.