UTICA, NY - The Utica University women's soccer team is set for back-to-back home contests this week. On Wednesday, the Pioneers will host the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts Trailblazers at 4 p.m. for its final non-conference game of the season. The team will then welcome the Nazareth College Golden Flyers at 3 p.m. on Saturday. Both games will be played on Pioneers Field.
Follow Along: Live video and stats will be provided for both games this week through
https://portal.stretchinternet.com/utica/.
Last Time Out: The team dropped its first Empire 8 contest of the season after a 1-0 road loss to the Alfred University Saxons on Saturday evening. Both teams were limited on chances through the first half as the Pioneers entered halftime ahead 5-4 in shot attempts, the first three Utica attempts being on goal. The lone goal of the game for either team came in the 56th minute as Abby Scanlan snuck one past
Courtney Connolly (Warwick, NY/Warwick Valley) for an unassisted score. The Pioneers were only able to get off two more looks after the 56th minute score as the team fell to Alfred, 1-0. The Saxons finished with a 12-8 advantage in shots while the teams were even with four shots on goal each.
Kaela Mochak (Westfield, MA/Westfield) finished with three of Utica's eight looks while five others attempted one. In goal, Connolly recorded three saves.
Where We Stand: At 1-1 in the Empire 8, Utica is currently tied with Houghton University for the sixth and final playoff spot in the standings with still seven conference contests left to be played. The team's two goals per game average tops the Empire 8 while its 0.44 scoring margin ranks third. The Pioneers also lead the conference attempting 8.56 shots on goal per outing, 1.33 more than second place, while its 127 shots rank third as the team has not struggled to produce opportunities this season.
Spreading the Wealth: Eight different Pioneers have found the back of the net this season, the most since the team had 11 different goal scorers in the 2018 season.
Ro Hernandez (Carmel, NY/Kennedy Catholic) (five) leads the way and is tied for the most goals in the Empire 8 as well. Freshman
Rylee Lamphere (Little Falls, NY/Dolgeville ) has impressed in her first collegiate season with four goals to her credit which tied her for third in the E8. Also, in her first season with the team,
Julianna Beaulieu (Chicopee,MA/Chicopee Comprehensive) has accounted for six points on a pair of goals and assists while teammates
Rory Richard (Barneveld, NY/Holland Patent ) and
Gabriela Daumont (Latham, NY/Shaker) have two goals as well.
Jenna Keeman (Douglas, MA/Douglas),
Hope Millets (Whitehall, PA/Whitehall) and
Noella Burlette (Manchester, CT/Manchester) have each found the back of the net once as well.
About the Blazers: MCLA will travel to Utica with a 1-5-2 overall mark as well as an 0-2-1 record in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference. Through eight games, the trailblazers have registered five goals on 50 shots with five different players responsible for each tally. On the road, MCLA is 0-3-1 while having been out-scored 12-2 in such games. Utica is 2-0 all-time against MCLA and has out-scored the Trailblazers 9-0 over its two wins in 2019 and 2021.
Scouting Naz: The Golden Flyers are currently 2-2-5, 1-0-1 in the Empire 8 and will travel to Medaille University on Wednesday prior to heading to Utica on Saturday. The team has scored the fourth most goals in the E8 (13) and are tied for the second-fewest goals allowed at 11. Alexandra Skoda leads the team with three goals on eight shots on goal while teammate Olivia Foley is the only other multi-goal scorer on the team with two. In goal, Annika Monfort is tied for third in the league allowing 1.276 goals per game while posting the second-highest save percentage in the E8 at .825.
Up Next: Utica will travel to St. John Fisher University at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, October 12.
