UTICA, NY - The Utica University women's soccer team is set to open its 2022 season at 7 p.m. on Thursday, September 1 against SUNY Poly in what will be the first soccer match to be played on the new Pioneer Turf and Track and Field Complex. The team will then travel to Schenectady, NY for a Saturday showdown against Union College at 2 p.m. 
 
Follow Along: On Thursday, fans can watch live or keep up with live stats through https://portal.stretchinternet.com/utica/ while Union will provide live video via https://unionathletics.com/sports/2018/8/29/wsoc-video.aspx and live stats at https://bit.ly/3czEQrU. 
 
Last Year: Utica ended the 2021 season 8-8-1 overall and 4-3-1 in Empire 8 play which qualified the team for its fourth consecutive conference tournament. As the fifth-seed in 2021, the team fell on the road to Hartwick College, 4-1, in the Empire 8 Opening Round. Led by Empire 8 First Team All-Conference selection Ro Hernandez (Carmel, NY/Kennedy Catholic), three other Pioneers were named to All-Empire 8 teams (Sydney Cook (Waterville, NY/Waterville) - Third Team, Jacinta Kaminski (Holland Patent, NY/Holland Patent) - Third Team, Erin Stalder (Oneonta, NY/Oneonta) - Sportswoman of the Year). 
 
Schedule Breakdown: The team's 17-game schedule will include nine matches against Empire 8 competition while eight will be played against non-conference opponents. Utica's non-conference slate will feature three at home (SUNY Poly, Hamilton College and Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts) and five on the road/neutral site (Union College, Fredonia State, Oswego State, SUNY Potsdam and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute). Within the E8, the Pioneers will play five times at home (Medaille University, Nazareth College, Elmira College, Keuka College and Hartwick College) while playing on the road at Alfred University, St. John Fisher University, Houghton University and Russell Sage College. 
 
At the Helm: Brooke Barbuto enters her fourth season as the head coach of the Utica University women's soccer program in 2022. Barbuto has led the Pioneers to two straight Empire 8 Championship game appearances and the team has reached the postseason in all three years of her tenure. That includes the program's first Empire 8 tournament title and NCAA tournament appearance in 2019. She has piloted the squad to a record of 22-17-5 over a three-season span. She has coached her players to a total of ten All-Conference nods. Assistant Coach Caroline Kopp will also be entering her fourth season with the program. 
 
Ro Ro Ro the Boat: All-Empire 8 First Team Selection Ro Hernandez (Carmel, NY/Kennedy Catholic) returns to the Pioneers for her second full season and third overall. While limited to 14 games and 13 starts last season, Hernandez still led the team with 10 goals, which were the third most in the E8, and 22 points which was the second most in the conference. Not only will she look to top her 2021 marks this season, Hernandez will also look to help make up for the loss of Sydney Cook (Waterville, NY/Waterville), who finished second on the team last season with six goals and led the Pioneers with five assists. 
 
Reinforcements: Although Utica lost Cook to graduation, the team will return five of its top six goal scores from 2021 (including Hernandez). Graduate student Jacinta Kaminski (Holland Patent, NY/Holland Patent) netted three goals over 15 games last season while also adding three assists. Junior Kaela Mochak (Westfield, MA/Westfield) also found the back of the net three times in 2021, including a beauty of a game-winner against SUNY Potsdam that landed her on SportsCenter Top Ten Plays. Gabriela Daumont (Latham, NY/Shaker) and Hope Millets (Whitehall, PA/Whitehall) totaled a goal each last year as they look to take the next step in 2022. Midfielders Noella Burlette (Manchester, CT/Manchester), Erin Stalder (Oneonta, NY/Oneonta), Shayla Seymour (Uxbridge, MA/Blackstone Valley Regional) and Mikayla Kelley (Ballston Spa/Ballston Spa) will also be looked upon as experienced members of the 2022 team while sophomore Analise Burdo (Elizabethtown, NY/Boquet Valley) will look to take a second-year leap. 
 
Locking it Down: Junior goalkeeper Courtney Connolly (Warwick, NY/Warwick Valley) will enter her third season as a Pioneer after finishing 2021 third in the Empire 8 with a 82.4 save percentage on 108 saves, as well as second in the league with 7.71 saves per game. Karen Troche (Amsterdam, NY/Amsterdam) will also provide depth to the goalkeeping unit with a year of experience under her belt. While defender Natalia Gerena (Troy, NY/Lansingburgh) has since graduated, Utica will still offer plenty of talent on the defensive end with the likes of Jenna Keeman (Douglas, MA/Douglas) and Olivia Papay (Weymouth, MA/Archbishop Williams) who were each limited last season. Megan O'Connor (Holbrook, NY/Ward-Melville) is back for her junior season as well for experienced depth on defense. 
 
Fresh Faces: Utica will welcome 16 new players overall. Defenders include Lyndsey Tiedemann (Salt Point, NY/F.D. Roosevelt ), Kayla Giovingo (Centereach, NY/Centereach), Samantha Kogut (North Adams, MA/Drury), Carly Trotman (Cicero, NY/Cicero North Syracuse ), Lindsay Fleshman (Owings, MD/Northern ) (who doubles as a midfielder), Ella Jentsch (Rosendale, NY/Our Lady of Lourdes) and Paige Cornish (Waterville, NY/Waterville ). Fresh to the midfield and forward groups are Julianna Beaulieu (Chicopee,MA/Chicopee Comprehensive), Rory Richard (Barneveld, NY/Holland Patent ), Julianna Colavita (Syracuse, NY/Liverpool ), Rylee Lamphere (Little Falls, NY/Dolgeville ), Sofia Fini (Campbell Hall, NY/Goshen ), Lydia Iorio (Amsterdam, NY/Amsterdam) and Kaelyn McMullan (Waterford, NY/Shenendehowa ). Goalkeepers Abbie Knaisch (Addison, NY/Addison ) and Cierra Doolen (Frankfort, NY/Central Valley Academy ) will also begin their first seasons with the Pioneers. 
 
About Poly: The Wildcats will be coming off of a 2021 season in which the team went 5-10 overall and 3-5 in North Atlantic Conference action. An extremely experienced unit, Poly will have 11 players that are either juniors or seniors to go with just one sophomore. All-time, the Pioneers hold a 24-5 advantage over their crosstown foes while having also taken the last three meetings in 2018, 2019 and 2021. 
 
Scouting Union: Union concluded 2021 with an overall mark of 9-8-2 while finishing Liberty League play 5-3-1. After defeating Vassar 1-0 in overtime in the first round of the Liberty League Tournament, the team fell in the semifinals to Ithaca College, 3-0. The team will field an even roster of experience and youth with 14 combined juniors and seniors with the other 14 players having sophomore or freshman status. 

Up Next: The team will travel to Fredonia State on September 9 and 10 for the Blue Devil Clarion Classic. Utica will battle Fredonia at 3:30 p.m. on Friday, September 9 before taking on Oswego State at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, September 10.