UTICA, NY - The Utica University field hockey team will travel to SUNY Oneonta this weekend to open its 2022 season. The Pioneers will take on the Red Dragons at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday before a neutral site battle against SUNY New Paltz at 2 p.m. on Sunday. 
 
Follow Along: Oneonta will provide live video for both of the Pioneers' games via https://oneontaathletics.com/watch/ as well as live stats through https://oneontaathletics.com/sidearmstats/fhockey/summary. 
 
Last Year: The Pioneers conclude 2021 with a 10-9 overall mark while posting a 6-2 record in Empire 8 play, qualifying them for the Empire 8 Conference Tournament as the third-seed. Utica went on the road in the semifinal round and upset Hartwick College 2-1, setting up a battle against top-seeded St. John Fisher University for the E8 crown. However, Utica would go on to fall against Fisher in that game on the road, 3-0. The team finished on top of the E8 averaging 3.7 goals per game while having the second-best scoring margin in the league at 1.16. In all, seven members of the squad were named to All-Empire 8 teams (Sabrina Whitehouse (Greenwich, NY/Greenwich) - First Team, Sydney Scaccia (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) - First Team, Jeslyn Files (Weedsport, NY/Weedsport) -First Team, Chloe Williams (Holland Patent, NY/Holland Patent) - First Team, Madeline Krecidlo (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) - Third team, Mackenzie Mix (Camden, NY/Camden) - Third Team, Kennedy Guy (Glens Falls, NY/Glens Falls) - Sportswoman of the Year). 
 
Schedule Breakdown: The Pioneers will play a total of 17 games this season consisting of nine Empire 8 contests and eight non-conference. Home non-conference games will come against Morrisville State and Ithaca College while the team will hit the road to take on SUNY Oneonta, SUNY New Paltz, SUNY Brockport, St. Lawrence University, Oswego State and Skidmore College. Within the Empire 8, Utica will host Elmira College, Keuka College, Hartwick College, Medaille University and St. John Fisher University and will play on the road at Houghton University, Washington & Jefferson College, Nazareth College and Russell Sage College. 
 
Fearless Leaders: Nikki Hobaica (Kieffer) enters her seventh season as head coach of the Utica University field hockey program. The Utica field hockey alumna has won 29 matches in her first five seasons at Utica, and has led the team to three Empire 8 tournament appearances in the last four years. She has coached her players to a total of four NFHCA All-Region selections, and two of her former players have been chosen to the prestigious NFHCA Senior All-Star game. She has also coached a total of twenty-two All-Conference selections in her first five years. Many of Hobaica's players have also routinely qualified for NFHCA National Academic Squad honors, as well as the Empire 8 Presidents' List. Assisting Hobaica will be another former Utica field hockey standout, Rylee Meelan, who will begin her fourth season as an assistant coach. New to the coaching staff will be Megan Chamberlain (Queensbury, NY/Queensbury), the program's all-time leader in saves, after she was hired this past summer. 
 
Pushing the Pace: Although the Pioneers lost four of their top-five scorers from last season, the team will return plenty of experience amongst its forwards and midfielders to make up for it. Senior Shannon Jedreicich (Deer Park, NY/Half Hollow Hills East) will enter 2022 after recording 11 goals and four assists last season while Mackenzie Mix (Camden, NY/Camden) will look to take a leap in her second season after scoring three goals and recording 10 assists in her freshman season. Juniors Alyssa Pisano (Hopewell Junction, NY/Arlington) and Emily Frank (Johnstown, NY/Johnstown) are also primed to step into leadership roles amongst midfielders. 
 
Protecting the Cage: On defense, All-Empire 8 First Team selection Chloe Williams (Holland Patent, NY/Holland Patent) returns for her senior season after starting each of the team's 19 games. In that span she led the team with six defensive saves while also scoring a pair of goals. Jenna Carbone (Gloversville, NY/Gloversville) will also be entering her senior season as will Kylee Wojciechowski (Holland Patent, NY/Holland Patent) (who missed all but one game last season due to injury) while Madison Ranalli (Cicero, NY/Cicero-North Syracuse) enters year three for Utica. Sophomore Lyla Cushman (Holland Patent, NY/Holland Patent) will take over goalkeeping duties for the Pioneers after serving as Chamberlain's backup in 2021. Last season she appeared in two games with one start and allowed no goals in 60 minutes of action. 
 
Fresh Faces: Utica will welcome nine newcomers to the team as they look to help build off of a successful 2021 campaign. Midfielders Christina Jackson (Weedsport, NY/Weedsport) and Kassidy Gloude (Blossvale, NY/Camden ) provide youth to an experienced group while forwards Riley Cosimeno (Sherrill, NY/Vernon-Verona-Sherrill), Makayla Arnold (Marcy, NY/Whitesboro) and Alanna Fragapane (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy ) look to help replace the scoring attack of Sabrina Whitehouse (Greenwich, NY/Greenwich), Sydney Scaccia (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) and Madeline Krecidlo (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro). Dakota Alexander (Medina, NY/Medina ), Kalista Betz (Canastota, NY/Canastota) and Sarah Huller (Burke, VA/Carver Center for Arts & Technology ) begin their Pioneer careers adding depth to the defensive group while Samantha Young (Jordanville, NY/Little Falls) will look to do a bit of everything in her first season. 
 
About Oneonta: The Red Dragons are coming off of a 3-17 season in which they posted a 2-4 mark in SUNYAC play. The team advanced to the SUNYAC semifinals where they fell to the eventual champions New Paltz, 2-0. Utica and Oneonta have met every season (excluding 2020) while the Red Dragons hold a slight edge over the Pioneers in the all-time series, 13-11, including wins in the most recent two matchups. 
 
Scouting New Paltz: The Hawks will enter 2022 after a 2021 campaign that saw the team advance to the second round of the NCAA Division III Tournament. New Paltz will field a relatively young team as 15 of 21 players will either be in their first or second season. However, the team will return its top-two scorers from 2021 in juniors Hannah Ackerman (29 points on 12 goals and five assists) and Morgan Woolley (25 points on 11 goals and three assists). The Hawks hold a 6-5 advantage all-time over the Pioneers which includes wins in each of the last three meetings between the teams. 

Up Next: Utica will host Morrisville State at 4 p.m. on Friday, September 9 for its 2022 home opener from Charles A. Gaetano Stadium.