UTICA, NY- The Utica University women's lacrosse team will play the final game of their three-game homestand on Wednesday against SUNY Canton. Game time is set for 4 p.m. from Charles A. Gaetano Stadium.
 
Follow Along: Fans not in attendance can watch via live stream and/or keep up with live stats through https://portal.stretchinternet.com/utica/.
 
Last Time Out: Utica suffered its first loss of the season on Saturday, Mar. 26 as the team fell to visiting Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 14-9. The game remained within three goals up until the fourth quarter, where RPI used five unanswered goals to take control of the game. Senior Lexi Scaccia (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) and junior Samantha DeCondo (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) both had two goals. Graduate student Ashley Guerra (Ionia, NY/Honeoye Falls-Lima ) had a team-high three points with one goal and two assists, while seniors Addison Green (Marcy, NY/Whitesboro) and Emily Rossi (Verona, NY/Vernon-Verona-Sherrill), junior Daniela Muscari (Millbrook, NY/Millbrook), and sophomore Katie Crofoot (Montgomery, NY/Valley Central) each had one goal. Goaltender Claire Frier (Lafayette, NY/Lafayette) made a career-high 18 saves.
 
Scaccia's Streak: After a two-goal performance against RPI, Lexi Scaccia (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) has now pushed her point streak to 38 straight games, which dates back to March 12, 2019. Scaccia has also scored at least one goal in 23 of her last 24 games. With the two goals from her previous game and her 16 total on the season, Scaccia has now reached 150 points in her Utica lacrosse career, which ties her for sixth all-time with former teammate Stephanie Husnay (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro). Scaccia's 106 career goals also ranks eight all-time in Pioneer history.
 
Getting It Going: After scoring her first career goal and point against Manhattanville College on March 19, junior attacker Daniela Muscari (Millbrook, NY/Millbrook) has scored one goal in each of her last three games. In addition to her three goals this season, Muscari has three ground balls and five draw controls.
 
Defensive Effort: Although the Pioneers' offense has been a large part of their success, the overall team defensive effort has been well received amongst the unit. There are currently 23 Pioneers on the team who have at least one ground ball, while 17 have caused at least one turnover. Utica's 122 ground balls is good enough for second in the Empire 8, while Lexi Scaccia's (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) 2.80 ground balls per game is tenth in the conference. 
 
Dynamic Duo: Samantha DeCondo (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) and Emily Rossi (Verona, NY/Vernon-Verona-Sherrill) have been two of the most consistent players on Utica's roster this season. DeCondo's 16 points (11 goals, 5 assists) is tied with Lexi Scaccia (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) (16 goals) for first on the team, while Rossi's 15 points (eight goals, seven assists) is third. DeCondo's six free position goals lead the team, while Rossi's seven assists also leads the team. Both also rank within the to-10 in the conference in assists per game as well as in points per game. 
 
Local Flavor: Addison Green (Marcy, NY/Whitesboro) is one of the six Pioneers who played at Whitesboro High School. Green is currently tied for fourth on the team with nine points (seven goals, two assists), trailing only former high school teammates Lexi Scaccia (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro), Samantha DeCondo (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) and Vernon-Verona-Sherrill's Emily Rossi (Verona, NY/Vernon-Verona-Sherrill). In addition to her offense, Green has also caused seven turnovers while having five ground balls. Green is top four on the team in goals (seven), points (nine), shots (29), shots on goal (18), free position shots (eight) and caused turnovers (seven).
 
Top Netminder: Utica University's senior goaltender Claire Frier (Lafayette, NY/Lafayette) was named Empire 8 Goaltender of the Week on Monday. In two games this past week, Frier made 20 saves, including a career-high 18 against RPI, while allowing 16 goals and having three ground balls. Frier is currently second in the Empire 8 with a 9.30 goals against average and third with a .545 save percentage. This award is Frier's first E8 Goalie of the Week award of her career.
 
Scouting Canton: The SUNY Canton Kangaroos are currently 4-3 on the season, and are coming off a 14-3 win over SUNY Poly in their first conference game of the season. The Kangaroos are led by junior Samantha Dayter who has 36 points (25 goals, 11 assists), and freshman Maddy Caron (13 goals) and senior Stephanie Thayer (10 goals, three assists), who both have 13 points. Thayer, alongside sophomore Lindsey Wunder, were both named SUNY Canton athletics' Roos of the Week, after their performance against SUNY Poly. Utica is 5-0 all-time against the Kangaroos, with the last matchup between these two programs coming on April 14, 2021, which resulted in a 21-3 Utica win.

Looking Ahead: Utica will hit the road on Saturday, April 2 to head to Rochester, NY to play its first conference game of the season against the No. 21 nationally ranked St. John Fisher Cardinals at 1 p.m.