Utica, NY- The Utica College women's soccer team travels to second-seeded Russell Sage College on Saturday for the Empire 8 Conference Championship game.  Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
 
Live Coverage: Russell Sage will be providing live stats and live video for the game.  Links to game coverage can be found on the women's soccer scheduled page at ucpioneers.com.
 
Last Time Out: The Pioneers are coming off a thrilling 4-2 win in penalty kicks over top-seeded Nazareth College on Thursday.  The game officially ended in a 1-1 tie, but UC advanced with the penalty shootout win.  Jenna Keeman (Douglas, MA/Douglas), Mikayla Kelley (Ballston Spa/Ballston Spa), Hillaria Hernandez (Carmel, NY/Kennedy Catholic), and Kaela Mochak (Westfield, MA/Westfield) all converted on their penalty kicks and junior Emily Hill (Watertown, CT/Watertown) made two big saves in the victory.  Mochak also scored Utica's goal in regulation, and Hill made a career-high 15 saves for the Pioneers.
 
Deja Vu:  Utica has advanced on penalty kicks in both of its E8 Tournament games so far. On Tuesday, Utica and Houghton played to a 1-1 tie, with UC winning 3-1 on PKs. All four Pioneer shooters scored on their chances against Naz on Thursday.  Utica has needed overtime in each of its last three games, including a 1-1 tie against St. John Fisher in the regular season finale. 
 
Back Again:  This is the third straight season the Pioneers have made it to the Empire 8 Championship game. Last season UC took home its first ever E8 title after a late 80th minute goal from senior forward Sydney Cook (Waterville, NY/Waterville) giving Utica the 1-0 win over Hartwick. In 2018 Utica met Stevens Institute of Technology in the championship game but was defeated 3-0. The Pioneers have defeated the tournament's top seed in the semifinals in each of the last two seasons.
 
Leading the Way: Utica has netted 12 goals in seven games during this condensed season.  Seniors Jacinta Kaminski (Holland Patent, NY/Holland Patent) and Kierra Caissey (Gardner, MA/Gardner) lead the way with three goals each, while Kaminski has also added one assist.  Freshman Kaela Mochak (Westfield, MA/Westfield) and sophomore Hope Millets (Whitehall, PA/Whitehall) each have two goals, and Haley Harrington (Munnsville, NY/Stockbridge Valley) and Hillaria Hernandez (Carmel, NY/Kennedy Catholic) have each found the back of the net once.  Hernandez meanwhile is tied for first in the conference with four assists.   
 
Shot Stoppers: Freshman Courtney Connolly (Warwick, NY/Warwick Valley) and junior Emily Hill (Watertown, CT/Watertown) have been quite impressive this season. Connolly has made her freshman year a memorable one racking up 40 saves in four games. She also finds herself ranked second in the Empire 8 for saves and she leads the conference in saves per game (10.0). Hill has played three games this season, boasting an impressive .939 save percentage and she has made 31 total saves. 
 
Scouting Sage: The Gators earned the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament after 3-2 in conference play (4-2 overall).  They are coming off a 2-0 win over Alfred University on Thursday.  Sage is led by junior Hallie Klosterman, who has three goals and six points on the year.  Goalies Mickaela Buzzy and Kallan Shertzer have split time this season, with Shertzer sporting a .882 save percentage and Klosterman with a .750 save percentage. 
 
History with Sage: Utica is 7-7 all-time against Sage, but the Gators hold the advantage lately with a 3-1 mark since 2017.  Sage defeated UC 2-0 in the previous meeting between the teams this season.  Eight games have been decided by just one goal.