UTICA, NY- The Utica College women's lacrosse team opens up the 2021 season Wednesday as it hosts the Rochester Institute of Technology Tigers. The first ever non-conference game between the two squads is scheduled for 4 p.m. at Charles A. Gaetano Stadium.

Follow Along: Per existing COVID-19 protocols, no spectators will be permitted on the premises at any Utica College Athletic event until further notice. Live video and stats for all UC Home Games are available at portal.stretchinternet.com/utica/.

 At The Helm: Head Coach Kristin St. Hilaire is back for her 14th season as the bench boss for the Pioneers.  St. Hilaire is the program's all-time winningest coach with 109 victories under her belt.  She has guided Utica to back-to-back Empire 8 Conference Tournament appearances and is poised to make a run at a third consecutive postseason berth.  In 2019, St. Hilaire guided the Pioneers to a No. 2 seed in the E8 tournament after the squad won a program record 13 games overall and six Empire 8 Conference contests, leading St. Hilaire and assistant coach Mary Morgan Marafino to be named the Empire 8 Coaching Staff of the Year. 

Unfinished Business: The Pioneers opened 2020 on a tear, going 4-0 and outscoring opponents 68-32 through the first four games before the season was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Junior Lexi Scaccia (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) was nearly unstoppable as she racked up a conference-leading 30 points on 23 goals and seven assists to start the year.  Additionally, the Pioneers had four other players with at least 10 points through the first four games.  Stephanie Husnay (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) was second with 16 points (11 goals, five assists), while Kaitlynn Palmer (Verona, NY/VVS), Katlyn Scarpinella (South Setauket, NY/Ward Melville), and Lauren Wolff (Peabody, MA/Peabody) each had 10 points to their credit.  It will be almost one year to the day since the Pioneers' last competition.  UC defeated Morrisville 20-8 on Wednesday March 11, 2020.  This year's season opener will be on Wednesday March 10.

Consistency Matters: The Pioneers have played in the last two Empire 8 tournaments to be held, and have recorded a winning record in their last nine seasons, including last year's unbeaten start. 

Lean on Lexi: Junior Lexi Scaccia (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) will once again look to lead the Pioneers' offense. Scaccia led the conference in goals (23), points per game (7.5), and draw controls (33) through four games last season and she was also third in caused turnovers per game (3.25).  Scaccia has racked up 72 points (48 goals, 24 assists) in just 21 games played in her career.  She has been held without a point just once, a 13-9 loss at Clarkson on March 9, 2019. Scaccia won multiple E8 Player of the Week Awards last season before the campaign was halted. She was a second-team All-Conference performer in 2019.

The Syd Story: Like her sister, Senior Sydney Scaccia (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) has created all sorts of havoc on the lacrosse field ever since her arrival in the Utica College program. Scaccia is a two-time Empire 8 All-Conference honorable mention pick, and has a goal and four assists in her career while primarily playing defense. The Scaccia sisters are the only remaining players on the Pioneers roster this season to have been chosen to the 2019 All-Conference teams.

Feed The Wolff: Senior attacker Lauren Wolff (Peabody, MA/Peabody) has been one of the conference's premier distributors over the course of her career. She has 46 career assists to rank in a tie for fourth in school history. She had ten points on four goals and six assists in the first four games last year. Her 1.21 assists per game rank second in school history. In 2019 she averaged 1.51 assists per game which was fourth-best among Empire 8 competitors. She led the team last year with two game-winning goals in four games. 

How About Husnay?: Senior Stephanie Husnay (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) is the active leader with 104 career points (58 goals, 46 assists).  She was second on the squad last year with 16 points through four games.  Husnay was the 2018 Empire 8 Rookie of the Year after she totaled 59 points as a freshman.  Her numbers were lower in her sophomore season due to a nagging injury, but she is back ready to help lead the offense. She is tied for fourth in school history with 46 career assists.

Defensive Experience: The Pioneers will have the luxury of having two longtime members of the program in the defensive third of the field this season. Utica will have the services of senior defender Hannah Nordstrom (Fairhaven, MA/Fairhaven), and graduate student Maddie Behan (Syracuse, NY/Jamesville Dewitt) at their disposal as they get ready to take on the upcoming schedule. Nordstrom has sixteen career appearances and has scored seven goals, caused four turnovers, and snagged six ground balls. Behan has caused two turnovers and gathered four ground balls while also scoring four goals during her career.  Additionally, Junior Kelsey Trainor (Wallkill, NY/Valley Central) will also be relied upon on the defensive end.  Trainor has seen action in 19 career games, causing 11 turnovers and scooping up five ground balls. 

Gimme That: Utica has been in the top two in the conference in caused turnovers in each of the last three seasons. Last season, Lexi Scaccia (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) was third in the conference in that category, while Stephanie Husnay (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) ranked sixth. 

Local Flair: Utica's roster features 10 players who call the Mohawk Valley home.  Those players are Katherine Migliori (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy), Stephanie Husnay (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro), Lexi Scaccia (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro), Sydney Scaccia (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro), Emily Rossi (Verona, NY/Vernon-Verona-Sherrill), Addison Green (Marcy, NY/Whitesboro), Samantha DeCondo (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro), Savanna Thomas (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro), Danielle Stay (Marcy, NY/Whitesboro), and Abigail Gerling (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro). Of that group, seven of those individuals attended nearby Whitesboro High School.

In Goal: Utica will have a new starter in goal after the departure of longtime mainstay Hali Vandermeulen (Walden, NY/Valley Central), who backstopped the Pioneers to their recent postseason appearances and exits the program as the winningest goalie in school history.  Junior Claire Frier (Lafayette, NY/Lafayette) has seen plenty of game action and has appeared in nine games over the first two seasons of her career. Newcomers Shaylynn Palmer (Kirkville, NY/East Syracuse Minoa) and Savanna Thomas (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) will also be competing for time in the crease this season.

Welcome To The Party: The Pioneers will carry sixteen freshmen on the roster this season, marking one of the largest rookie classes since the birth of the program. First year players to watch include defender Aana Blaszka (Hampstead, NH/Pinkerton Academy), defender and midfielder Mara Cunningham (Queensbury, NY/Queensbury), midfielder and defender Devin Ryan (Orchard Park, NY/Buffalo Academy of the Sacred Heart), and midfielder Alyssa Pisano (Hopewell Junction, NY/Arlington). Utica also welcomes Oneonta State transfer Lila Allison (Loudonville, NY/Shaker), who had two goals, an assist, and five ground balls in the five game season for the Red Dragons last year. 

Blast From The Past: Schedule changes have afforded Utica the opportunity to take on former Empire 8 rival Rochester Institute of Technology for the first time since the Tigers left the Empire 8 for the Liberty League in 2011. RIT won the most recent meeting on April 9th, 2011 by a 15-12 score. Tammy Kohanski had five goals for Utica that day, while Pioneer hall of famer Shelby Barbay recorded eight saves in goal. This will be the tenth all-time meeting with the Tigers leading the series 5-4. The Pioneers won four straight in the series from 2005 to 2008, but RIT won the last three games.

About The Tigers: RIT wrapped up 2019 with a 6-10 record, and were 2-1 in their first three games of 2020 before the year was halted. The Tigers won back-to-back games against Montclair State and Juniata in 2020 after a loss to nationally-ranked Geneseo to begin the year. Olivia Africa and Alanna Fallone return as the top two scorers from last year's Tiger squad.

Up Next: The Pioneers are set to be on the road on Saturday, March 13th against Nazareth College for a non-conference game against their Empire 8 opponents. Opening draw is set for 1 p.m.