Utica, NY- The fourth-seeded Utica College field hockey team begins Empire 8 Conference tournament play on Wednesday, April 21st as they host fifth-seeded Nazareth College. Game time is slated for 4 p.m. at Charles A. Gaetano Stadium.
 

Live Coverage: Live video and stats of Wednesday's game will be available at portal.stretchinternet.com/utica/. Additionally, fans may watch on the free Empire 8 Conference Apps available for a variety of devices such as Roku, Amazon Fire, and AppleTV. 

 

Tidying Up The Regular Season: Utica finished the regular season with a 1-3 overall and conference record. Three of their four games were decided by two goals or less. Madeline Krecidlo (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) and Sabrina Whitehouse (Greenwich, NY/Greenwich) had a goal and an assist each to lead the offense. Megan Chamberlain (Queensbury, NY/Queensbury) played every minute of the season in goal. 

 

Last Time Out: Utica lost to Houghton 3-1 at home on Sunday, April 11th. Both teams scored once in the first half, as Shannon Jedreicich (Deer Park, NY/Half Hollow Hills East) answered an early Houghton goal to take a 1-1 score into the break. Houghton pulled away with a pair of second half goals to take home the win. Megan Chamberlain (Queensbury, NY/Queensbury) made five saves. 

 

Writing About Whitehouse: Senior forward Sabrina Whitehouse (Greenwich, NY/Greenwich) has routinely delivered outstanding performances in her four years. To this point in her career, she has 20 goals and 20 assists. Her efforts have earned her a spot among the top ten goal scorers in school history, and she also ranks in the top five in assists. Whitehouse has accumulated 60 points in her career for a top ten ranking in that category as well. This season, she has a goal and an assist and also has a team-high nine shots. 

 

Young Guns: At the start of the season the Pioneers welcomed in six new players to the team. Five of those six players, defender Kylee Wojciechowski (Holland Patent, NY/Holland Patent), defender Chloe Williams (Holland Patent, NY/Holland Patent), midfielder Madison Ranalli (Cicero, NY/Cicero-North Syracuse), midfielder Emily Frank (Johnstown, NY/Johnstown), and forward Jaqueline Povall saw field time this season. Ranalli, Frank, Williams and Povall played in all four games this season. 

 

Back Again: Utica is returning to the Empire 8 Conference Tournament for the second season in a row, and the third time in four years. All of those appearances have come under the leadership of head coach Nikki Kieffer. Kieffer has played in or coached in several E8 tournaments. Last season the Pioneers were knocked out in the semifinals by a talented Hartwick team by a 3-2 score. This will be the first time that Utica and Nazareth have met in the postseason. 

 

The Last Time Against Naz: The Pioneers will be playing their second contest of the year against Nazareth. UC previously battled Naz to a 2-1 overtime win on Sunday, March 28th. Madeline Krecidlo (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) scored in regulation for UC and the Pioneers maintained that lead into the fourth quarter, when Nazareth's Emilee Rosenberg netted the tying goal. Utica ultimately settled it in overtime when Sabrina Whitehouse (Greenwich, NY/Greenwich) made a run down the left side and scored the winning goal. This will be the 21st all-Time meeting, with Utica leading the series 16-4. 

 

About Naz: Naz had a challenging regular season finishing 1-3. They were able to take down Houghton College on the road with a 3-1 win for their lone victory of the season. The Golden Flyers were also in the Empire 8 Conference Tournament last season. Four different players have a goal each for Nazareth. 

 

Tourney Tracker: Five teams have a chance at the title. St. John Fisher College, Houghton, and Hartwick have earned a bye for the first round. The winner of UC and Naz will go on to play St. John Fisher in the semifinals. The winner of the semifinal between Hartwick and Houghton will also move onto the Championship round. 

Up Next: If the Pioneers take down the Golden Flyers on Wednesday, they will progress to the semifinals to be played on Friday against top-seeded St. John Fisher.