UTICA, NY - The Utica University field hockey team is headed to its second-straight Empire 8 Semifinal after earning a 3-0 shutout win over the Washington & Jefferson Presidents in the E8 First Round on Wednesday afternoon. 
 
Through the early goings of the first quarter, W&J was able to put a pair of shots on cage and draw three penalty corners before the Pioneers could settle in offensively. However, a save by Lyla Cushman (Holland Patent, NY/Holland Patent) and a defensive save by Madison Ranalli (Cicero, NY/Cicero-North Syracuse) kept the Presidents off the board. 
 
Late in the 12th minute the Pioneers drew their second corner of the game. Following a missed shot by Kylee Wojciechowski (Holland Patent, NY/Holland Patent) from close range, Shannon Jedreicich (Deer Park, NY/Half Hollow Hills East) was there to clean up and score her fifth goal of the year for a 1-0 Utica lead. 
 
The Pioneers remained ahead 1-0 midway through the second quarter when the team drew another corner. Emily Frank (Johnstown, NY/Johnstown) received a pass from Wojciechowski near the top of the arc and fired a bullet into the back of the cage for what was her first career goal as well as a 2-0 advantage for Utica. Although W&J also had five corner attempts, the Pioneers held the visitors to just two second quarter shots to lead 2-0 at the break. 
 
Utica remained in offensive control throughout the third quarter as the team outshot the Presidents 4-0. On the Pioneers' third look of the third frame, Alyssa Pisano (Hopewell Junction, NY/Arlington) put the ball through a tight window to find Alanna Fragapane (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy) just yards away from goal and assist the freshman on her seventh tally of the year. Fragapane's goal also came in a short-handed situation for the team following a Jedreicich green card. 
 
From there, the Pioneers limited W&J to one shot, which came in the fourth quarter, and wind down the final 20 minutes of play to secure the first round win. 
 
Jedreicich led the Pioneers with three shots as well as with two on goal while Wojciechowski, Frank and Fragapane each had two scoring looks. On defense, Ranalli extended her single season Empire 8 record and top-national ranking with her 15th defensive save while Samantha Young (Jordanville, NY/Little Falls) had one of her own. In goal, Cushman made two saves while posting a clean sheet. 
 
Utica (8-9, 6-3 Empire 8) will travel to top-seeded Hartwick College at 4 p.m. on Friday for the Empire 8 Conference Tournament Semifinals. This game will feature a rematch of the 2021 Empire 8 Semifinals in which Utica went on the road and beat Hartwick, 2-1.