Utica, NY - The Utica College men's soccer team begins its three game homestand with a light week. The team's only game this week is on Wednesday, September 22 at 4 p.m. against SUNY Poly.
 
How to Watch: Live video and stats can be found by following https://portal.stretchinternet.com/utica/. 
 
Last Time Out: Utica traveled to Alfred St. on Sunday afternoon and came back with a 3-1 win. Cody Baker-Green (Warwick, NY/Warwick Valley) netted his first goal of the season in the 14th minute before going on to assist Daniel Varsames (Gansevoort, NY/Saratoga Springs) on his first goal of the season in the 23rd minute. The Pioneers added a third goal to take a 3-0 lead in the 55th minute and Alfred St. finally got one past Foti Xidias (Carteret, NJ/Carteret) in the 77th minute for UC to walk away 3-1 winners. Each of the Pioneers' three goals came off of corner kicks. Xidias finished the day with six saves and one goal allowed on 10 shots by Alfred St. 
 
In the Thick of Things: Following Wednesday against Poly the Pioneers will enter a crucial part of their schedule consisting of six straight Empire 8 games. In all, UC will wrap up the season with seven of its last eight games coming against conference opponents after having already lost its first conference game to Houghton College on Saturday, 2-1 in overtime. 
 
Spreading the Wealth: Through seven games, UC does not yet have anyone with multiple goals. Brady Barnard (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool), Brady Maloney (Ellisburg, NY/Bellville Henderson), Sory Konate (Harlem, NY/Forsyth Satellite Academy), Jacob Sherline (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro), Baker-Green and Varsames each have one goal on the season. 
 
Brick Wall: Utica ranks near the top of the conference with a goals allowed per game average of 1.14. Although Xidias deserves much of the credit for the team's success defending, Colin McCarthy (Vestal, NY/Vestal), Patrick Hynes (Glenmont, NY/Bethlehem), Colin Lewis (Claremont, NH/Kimball Union Academy) and the rest of the defenders have helped make his job much easier with their strong play on the defensive end. 
 
Meeting History: UC owns a 24-11-3 record all-time against Poly while also owning a 15-4-1 record against them at home. The Pioneers have taken three of the last four meetings between the teams, including a 3-2 win in the most recent meeting in 2019 at Poly. 
 
Scouting Poly: The Wildcats will take a 4-1 record into its game against the Pioneers while each of the team's four wins have come decisively. They opened the season with a 9-0 win over Hilbert before dropping their next game to Nazareth, 2-0. Over the last three games, Poly has outscored its opponents 9-0 and, on the season, 18-2. Six players on the team have at least two goals on the year while Edgar Gomez has found the back of the net four times in eight shot attempts on goal. James D'Alessio serves as the team's primary keeper and has recorded eight saves to just two goals allowed in over 350 minutes played. 

Up Next: UC will have 10 days off following Wednesday's game against SUNY Poly before the team hosts Elmira College on Saturday, October 2 at noon.