UTICA, NY - The Utica University women's soccer team will kick off its week at home on Wednesday facing off against Keuka College at 4 p.m. from Pioneer Field. The team will then travel to Houghton, NY on Saturday to face off against the Houghton Highlanders at 4 p.m.
 
Follow Along: Houghton will provide live video at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/houghton/ and live stats at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/houghton/ for the game Saturday against the Pioneer's. Those who can not attend Wednesday's game home at Pioneer Field can watch at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/utica/ or even look at live stats. 
 
Last Time Out: On the day the Utica University women's soccer team honored its Team IMPACT teammate, Anna LaBella, the Pioneers secured its second Empire 8 win of the season after defeating the Elmira College Soaring Eagles 3-0 on Saturday afternoon. Still 0-0 in the 36th minute, Julianna Beaulieu (Chicopee,MA/Chicopee Comprehensive) scored her fourth goal of the season on a beautiful look by Gabriela Daumont (Latham, NY/Shaker). The Pioneers led the Eagles 1-0 at the break while Elmira was only able to record two shots, one of which coming in the 15th minute. Utica nearly held a 2-0 edge at halftime however, Ro Hernandez (Carmel, NY/Kennedy Catholic) was a split second too late on a shot that made its way into goal. Hernandez avenged her near time-expiring goal with her eighth of the year in the 54th minute as Daumont once again assisted on a crafty loft pass which led Hernandez into open field. With the game all but put away, Julianna Colavita (Syracuse, NY/Liverpool ) put the final nail in the coffin with her first collegiate goal off of a Noella Burlette (Manchester, CT/Manchester) assist as the Pioneers pulled away with the shutout victory. 
 
Where We Stand: The Pioneers are currently in sixth place in the Empire 8 standings behind Nazareth College, St. John Fisher University, Alfred University, Russell Sage College and Hartwick College. The team looks to continue their success after not taking a loss in four straight games which includes ties against both of the top-two teams in Nazareth and St. John Fisher. Each of Utica's final four games will come against conference foes (Keuka, Houghton, Sage and Hartwick) while currently, Sage and Hartwick lead Utica by one point in the standings with Houghton trailing the Pioneers by one point. The Pioneers offensive surge currently leads Empire 8 in scoring average and are second in total shots. 
 
Young Pioneers: Utica freshman Julianna Colavita (Syracuse, NY/Liverpool ) and Noella Burlette (Manchester, CT/Manchester) connected with each other to put the final touches on to the 3-0 victory. Burlette hit Colavita open for a shot that ultimately led to Colavita's first collegiate goal. Along with them, Rylee Lamphere (Little Falls, NY/Dolgeville ) is third on the team with 10 points while Rory Richard (Barneveld, NY/Holland Patent ) has five on a pair of goals and an assist. Defensively, Samantha Kogut (North Adams, MA/Drury) and Lindsay Fleshman (Owings, MD/Northern ) have helped the team become a top-four ranked defense in the league. 
 
Utica's Cerberus: Ro Hernandez (Carmel, NY/Kennedy Catholic) continues her rampage in the Empire 8, leading in goals with eight and topping the next closest by three. The Pioneers also have the most players in assists with Jacinta Kaminski (Holland Patent, NY/Holland Patent), Julianna Beaulieu (Chicopee,MA/Chicopee Comprehensive), and Ro Hernandez (Carmel, NY/Kennedy Catholic) in the top-10. Kaminski comes in third with five assists while Beaulieu and Hernandez are tied for sixth with four assists each. Hernandez and Beaulieu are also in the top-two for points with Hernandez sitting atop of the E8 with 20 and Beaulieu in second with 12. 
 
Looking at Keuka: The Wolves are 2-6-4 on the season and in their most recent game lost to Alfred 1-0.  The Wolves are offensively led by Parker Lahey, Shayla Vetter, and Lindsey Garbacz who have all netted goals for the Wolves. Lahey leads the Wolves with three goals followed by Vetter with two. In goal for the Wolves Sam Pelcher has 72 saves, which is third amongst Empire 8 goalies, and has a .800 save percentage. 
 
Scouting Houghton: The Highlanders are 5-5-3 with a record of 2-2-1 in Empire 8 conference play. In the Highlanders most recent game they lost 3-0 to Nazareth. In all, 12 different Highlanders have scored this season and are led offensively by Rileigh Studley, Aivery Shuck, and Natalie Milne. Studley leads the team and is fifth in Empire 8 with four goals with Shuck and Milne tied with three apiece. Shuck as well as Sarah Potocki are tied for the lead in assists this season in Empire 8 with 5 each. In goal this season for the Highlanders, Megan Merrifield has 65 saves this season with a 0.793 save percentage which ranks sixth in Empire 8. 

Up Next: On Wednesday, October 26 the Pioneers will travel to Albany, NY where they will face off against Russell Sage at 4.p.m from the University at Albany.