UTICA, NY - The Utica College men's soccer team is gearing up for a trio of games this week. On September 15 the team will host Hamilton College at 4 p.m. before traveling to Houghton on September 18 for the team's first Empire 8 match of the season at 3 p.m. The week will conclude on Sunday with a 1 p.m. game at Alfred St. 
 
How to Watch: Live stream and live stats will be provided for Wednesday's game against Hamilton College and can be found by following https://portal.stretchinternet.com/utica/. 
 
Big Game Brady: In UC's only game last week, the Pioneers defeated SUNY Potsdam 2-1 in overtime thanks to a heroic goal by Brady Barnard (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool) in the 96th minute. Besides the game-winning goal, Barnard also assisted Sory Konate (Harlem, NY/Forsyth Satellite Academy) in the 55th minute to tie the game at one. With the win, UC improved to 2-1-1 in the early season. 
 
Fear Foti: Foti Xidias (Carteret, NJ/Carteret) surrendered an early goal in the 2nd minute last week at SUNY Potsdam however, the sophomore turned into a brick wall from that point forward. Xidias ended the game with three saves on 10 shots, bringing his save percentage to .818 which ranks second in the E8. 
 
Mugushu, Here to Assist: Byamungu Mugushu (Syracuse, NY/Bishop Grimes) recorded his conference leading second assist last week at SUNY Potsdam. Mugushu found Barnard to help lift UC over Potsdam while also placing himself atop of the Empire 8. 
 
About Hamilton: Hamilton will come into Gaetano Stadium on Wednesday with an overall 1-1 record. The Continentals defeated Oswego St. 3-2 in OT in its first game of the season before losing 1-0 to Bates this past Saturday. Spencer Royal is responsible for all three goals this season while Ben Ziegler has allowed three goals and recorded six saves in two starts in the net. 
 
A Look at Houghton: The Highlanders are currently 0-4 and will take on Brockport prior to hosting UC on Saturday. Opponents have outscored Houghton 10-2 over its first four games while goalkeeping duties have been split between Sam Carpenter and Joshua Ludolph. Both have allowed five goals each with neither posting a save percentage greater than .690. This will be the first E8 match for both teams. 

Scouting Alfred St.: The Alfred St. Pioneers enter the week 1-3 and will play twice this week prior to hosting Utica on Sunday. After starting the season with a 3-0 loss against Elmira, Alfred St. recorded a 2-1 win over St. Vincent and back-to-back 1-0 road losses at Penn College and SUNY Potsdam. Mike Bupp and Jackson Powers are the only two goal scorers thus far on the team while keeper Thad Grierson has allowed five goals so far this season while recording nine saves.