UTICA, NY - The Utica College men's soccer team is set to travel to Houghton College on Wednesday, November 3 for the Empire 8 Conference Tournament semifinals. The third-seeded Pioneers will meet the second-seeded Highlanders at 7 p.m. from Burke Field in Houghton, NY. 
 
Follow Along: Houghton will be providing live stats and video through https://portal.stretchinternet.com/houghton/. 
 
Last Time Out: Utica took down Hartwick College 1-0 on Friday, October 29 to help win its fifth consecutive league game. The lone score of the game came in the 16th minute when Gian Rodriguez (Buenos Aires, Argentina/Northwood) found Sory Konate (Harlem, NY/Forsyth Satellite Academy) cutting in towards the net for what was his team leading fifth goal of the season. Utica had two other goals called back for offsides, one in the first period and the other a bit later in the second period. Kamer Lenio (Brighton, NY/Brighton) and Byamungu Mugushu (Syracuse, NY/Bishop Grimes) nearly doubled UC's lead in the 74th and 75th minutes however, Hawks goalkeeper Jodi Johnson made a nice save to deny Lenio while Mugushu's shot just missed wide. 
 
Last Meeting: UC fell in extra time on the road in its Empire 8 Conference opener to the Highlanders on September 18. Houghton's Andy Loomis broke a 1-1 tie just 1:45 into extra time to propel the hosts to a 2-1 win in Houghton, NY. The Highlanders outshot the Pioneers 10-7 overall, and 7-3 on the frame of goal over the course of the match. Utica held a 3-2 edge in corner kicks. Foti Xidias (Carteret, NJ/Carteret) made five saves in goal for Utica. The only scoring of regulation time came on own goals as the Pioneers picked up a goal in the 25th minute, and the Highlanders forced extra time with a Utica own goal in the 85th. That set the stage for Loomis to put the match in favor of the home side.
 
Tournament History: Although Utica qualified for the conference tournament last season, Nazareth advanced over the Pioneers in what was ruled a no contest. UC is 1-5 all-time in the tournament and last took the field in the 2014 semifinals in what turned out to be a 1-0 loss to Ithaca. In 2013, Utica defeated Ithaca 2-0 to advance to its first, and to this point only, championship appearance. The Pioneers fell to Stevens 2-0 in the title game. 
 
Top to Bottom: UC has shown its depth this season as 11 different players have scored at least one goal while 13 different players have recorded a point through 16 games. Konate leads the team with 13 points followed by Ramazani Juma (Utica, NY/Proctor) and Byamungu Mugushu (Syracuse, NY/Bishop Grimes) with seven while Jacob Sherline (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro), Brady Barnard (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool) and Gian Rodriguez (Buenos Aires, Argentina/Northwood) all have five or more points. 
 
Scorching Hot: After scoring just one goal through his first 10 games of the season, Sory Konate (Harlem, NY/Forsyth Satellite Academy) has turned his play into fourth gear at the perfect time. Over the last six games, Konate has scored four goals on 13 shots, eight of which on goal, while moving into the top-10 in the Empire 8 with five total goals on the season. 
 
Lockdown Defense: The Pioneers defense hasn't allowed a goal in its last four conference matches. While Foti Xidias (Carteret, NJ/Carteret) deserves much of the praise, teammates Colin McCarthy (Vestal, NY/Vestal), Daniel Varsames (Gansevoort, NY/Saratoga Springs), Jahren James (River Vale, NJ/Pascack Valley) and Patrick Hynes (Glenmont, NY/Bethlehem) amongst others have made it difficult for teams to get off shots. Over the last four Empire 8 games, the UC defense allowed 39 total shots and 17 shots on goal, all of which reeled in by Xidias.
 
About the Highlanders: The Highlanders finished the season 7-11 overall and 6-2 in Empire 8 play, earning the second-seed in the conference tournament. Houghton ended the season with losses in four of its last six games including a 2-0 loss to St. John Fisher on October 16 and a 1-0 loss to Nazareth College on October 27. The team finished the year third in the E8 with a 1.389 scoring average however, the Highlanders ranked seventh in the conference with a -0.39 scoring margin. The Highlanders have also been one of the cleanest teams in the league, committing just 72 fouls and drawing only 15 yellow cards this season, both among the top-three fewest in the conference. Andy Loomis leads Houghton in scoring with 20 points on six goals and eight assists, while Julius Klohr has 12 points on four goals and four assists. In goal, Sam Carpenter has allowed 20 goals in 14 games, netting an average of 1.406 per game which ranks him fifth in the E8. He's also made 52 saves while owning a .722 save percentage. 

What's to Come: A win would advance Utica to the championship game on Saturday, November 6 against either top-seeded Nazareth College, fourth-seeded St. John Fisher or fifth-seeded Alfred University. A loss to Houghton would end the Pioneers' season.