UTICA, NY - The Utica University women's soccer team will host Medaille University at 4 p.m. on Saturday from Pioneer Field. The game will be Utica's Empire 8 opener as well as the team's senior day.
Follow Along: Those unable to attend Saturday's contest can follow along with live video and stats through
https://portal.stretchinternet.com/utica/.
Last Time Out: The team fell 4-1 to the Hamilton College Continentals at home on Sunday afternoon. Hamilton controlled the offensive tempo through the first nine minutes of play with three shot attempts and a pair of corner kicks.
Ro Hernandez (Carmel, NY/Kennedy Catholic) and
Kaela Mochak (Westfield, MA/Westfield) were able to provide some looks for the Pioneers in the 10th and 11th minutes but neither prevailed. The Continentals broke through first on a 15th minute tally off a corner kick for a 1-0 advantage. Utica evened the score in the 30th minute when
Rylee Lamphere (Little Falls, NY/Dolgeville ) headed the ball in off a
Jenna Keeman (Douglas, MA/Douglas) free kick for her fourth goal of the season. The game entered halftime with the sides even at one while Hamilton held a 15-6 shot advantage as well as a 7-0 edge in corner kicks. The second half started just as the first with Hamilton in the driver's seat. The visitors scored in the 50th minute to regain the lead while the Pioneers could not recover. From there, Hamilton scored twice more in the 54th and 77th minutes to walk away with the win. Keeman attempted three of Utica's 13 shots on the afternoon while Mochak, Hernandez,
Jacinta Kaminski (Holland Patent, NY/Holland Patent) and
Rory Richard (Barneveld, NY/Holland Patent ) took a pair of shots each. Kaminski also led the team with two shots on goal.
Courtney Connolly (Warwick, NY/Warwick Valley) made six saves in 75 minutes of action while
Cierra Doolen (Frankfort, NY/Central Valley Academy ) recorded four saves over the final 15 minutes of play.
Farewell Tour: Prior to Saturday's game against Medaille, the Utica University women's soccer program would like to take a moment to recognize its three seniors,
Erin Stalder (Oneonta, NY/Oneonta),
Hope Millets (Whitehall, PA/Whitehall) and
Jenna Keeman (Douglas, MA/Douglas), who have been a part of the team over the past four seasons. The trio have helped the Pioneers win 23 games as well as advance to two Empire 8 Conference Championship games while capturing the 2019 conference title. The program will also share a special thank you to graduate students
Ro Hernandez (Carmel, NY/Kennedy Catholic) and
Jacinta Kaminski (Holland Patent, NY/Holland Patent) who were both honored during the team's 2021 senior day.
More Please: Rylee Lamphere (Little Falls, NY/Dolgeville ) continues to turn heads in her first collegiate season. The Little Falls, NY native leads the Pioneers with eight points as well as with four goals while displaying efficiency. Lamphere's four tallies have come on five total shots and four shots on goal. Not only does she lead the team in those categories, she also tops the Empire 8 averaging .667 goals per contest as well as with 1.33 points per game. Not far behind the newcomer are teammates
Ro Hernandez (Carmel, NY/Kennedy Catholic) and
Julianna Beaulieu (Chicopee,MA/Chicopee Comprehensive), both of whom rank within the top-10 in the league with one point per game.
Holding it Down: Jenna Keeman's (Douglas, MA/Douglas) presence on the field has not gone unnoticed. The Senior has logged 435 minutes, the fourth most on the team, through six games this season. Aside from her defensive wrath, Keeman has been fairly active on the offensive end with a free kick assist against Hamilton last Saturday. She has also attempted seven shots this year, two of which on goal.
About Medaille: The Mavericks will travel to Utica looking for its first win of the season as the team owns an 0-3 mark and an 0-1 record in Empire 8 play after falling to Alfred University last week. Medaille has been out-scored by opponents 9-2 through its first three games while being out-shot 31-8 on average. Isabella Finley and Kristin Morris are the team's lone goal scorers, both of which scored on unassisted looks. Kasie Craig has played in all three games in goal while starting in two games posting an 0-2 mark. Craig has allowed five goals while recording 25 saves for an .833 save percentage. Utica is 1-0 all-time against Medaille, taking the only prior meeting 5-0 in a neutral site match in 2015.
Up Next: The Pioneers will play back-to-back road games starting at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, September 27 at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
