UTICA, NY - The Utica University men's soccer team will host the Nazareth College Golden Flyers on Tuesday in the first round of the 2022 Empire 8 Conference Tournament. Game time is set for 3:30 p.m. from Pioneer Field. 
 
Follow Along: For those who can not attend the game Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. at Pioneer Field you can tune in for live video and/or stats at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/utica/.
 
Last Time Out: The Pioneers played their final regular season game this past weekend in a close 3-4 loss to the Houghton Highlanders. The first half was quiet and saw the teams battling for possession as the two combined for 12 shots. Utica had two corner kicks within the first eight minutes and had a few opportunities yet could not convert. The Pioneers were pressing and Cody Baker-Green (Warwick, NY/Warwick Valley) fired in a corner kick and Fred Holmes (Newmarket, NH/Newmarket HS) was shoved resulting in a penalty kick for Utica. Baker-Green tucked the ball in the bottom right corner to give the Pioneers a 1-0 edge. The teams combined for five corner kicks in the final ten minutes, yet the score remained 1-0 Utica entering the half. The second half was much more fast paced as the scoring floodgates opened. In the 69th minute Houghton tied the game at 1-1 off a free kick from just outside the box. The Pioneers started to push up field yet the Highlanders intercepted the ball and ran down the field to earn a corner kick. The Highlanders were able to score directly off of the corner kick and take a 2-1 advantage. Just one minute later in the 75th minute, the Highlanders netted another goal for a 3-1 lead. The Pioneers started to push down field and Baker-Green netted a beautiful goal off a free kick to cut the lead to 3-2. Utica's offense kept firing off shots as Byamungu Mugushu (Syracuse, NY/Bishop Grimes) and Austin McCarthy (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) recorded attempts. In the 87th minute Brady Maloney (Ellisburg, NY/Bellville Henderson) delivered a terrific long free kick from nearly half field that bounced around in the box before going off a Highlander defender to even the game at 3-3. Yet, Houghton would respond with a game winning goal in the 89th minute to win the game 4-3.
 
Playoff History: The Pioneers are thrilled for this postseason as it is the team's first home playoff game since the 2013 season.  Heading into its second postseason appearance in a row, Utica is looking to continue its high intensity play to take down Nazareth and move on from round one after suffering a tough overtime loss last year to the Houghton Highlanders in the conference semifinals. 
 
Leading The Way: Leading the way for the Pioneers on the offensive end is the duo of Cody Baker-Green (Warwick, NY/Warwick Valley) and Byamungu Mugushu (Syracuse, NY/Bishop Grimes). Baker-Green leads the Pioneers with 13 goals and 30 points and has been the focal point of the offensive attack. Baker-Green has been one of the team's top shooters as he is second on the team with 60 shots including 29 shots on goal. Yet, most importantly is how clutch he has been as the junior has netted three game winning goals for the Pioneers. The other part of the duo Byamungu Mugushu (Syracuse, NY/Bishop Grimes) has also had a fantastic all around season. Mugushu has been a key piece to the Pioneers offense alongside Baker-Green and the duo has great chemistry on the field. Mugushu is second on the team with eight goals, and leads the team in assists (five) and shots (61). The junior's playmaking has been off the charts and his quick acceleration has him second on the team with 21 points including two crucial game winning goals. On the defensive side, Utica will look to shut down Nazareth and try to keep the ball on the offensive end where the team shines. Leading the way for the Pioneers defense is its star goalkeeper Foti Xidias (Carteret, NJ/Carteret). Xidias has been a key component to many of the Pioneer's victories this season as he keeps the team in games with his stellar goalkeeping. In net, Xidias has accumulated 72 saves along with two shutouts and sports a .742 save percentage which ranks third amongst goalies in the Empire 8. 
 
Scouting Nazareth: On the offensive end the Golden Flyers are led by Cuneyt Vardar. Vardar has been the heart of the offense for the Golden Flyers this season leading the team with 15 goals. Vardar also leads Nazareth in shots (70) and has two game-winning goals for the team. Helping Vardar on the offensive end is another weapon in Sam Smyth. Smyth has been the Golden Flyers other piece that has pushed the team to its postseason appearance. Smyth has accumulated seven goals, five assists, with two game-winning goals. Defensively, the Golden Flyers will lean on Logan Menna in net. This season, Menna has 56 saves with a save percentage of .789 and has accumulated two shutout performances for Nazareth. 

Up Next: The winner of Tuesday's postseason game between Nazareth and Utica will advance to the semifinals against St. John Fisher at St. John Fisher University. The semifinal contest is set for Thursday at 7:30 p.m.