UTICA, NY - The Utica University field hockey team will host the Morrisville State Mustangs at 4 p.m. on Friday for its 2022 home opener.
Follow Along: Those unable to attend can watch or keep up with live stats through
https://portal.stretchinternet.com/utica/.
Last Time Out: The Pioneers fell on the road in their season opener to the SUNY Oneonta Red Dragons, 1-0. The lone goal of the game came just minutes after halftime off the stick of Carly Waszczak of Oneonta off of a penalty corner.
Mackenzie Mix (Camden, NY/Camden) and
Kylee Wojciechowski (Holland Patent, NY/Holland Patent) each recorded one shot for the Pioneers, who were outshot 12-2 on Saturday. In the cage,
Lyla Cushman (Holland Patent, NY/Holland Patent) recorded five saves and
Madison Ranalli (Cicero, NY/Cicero-North Syracuse) had a defensive stop.
Cage Keeper: Lyla Cushman's (Holland Patent, NY/Holland Patent) debut as the starting goalkeeper left her amongst the league leaders in each statistical category. Despite the loss, Cushman leads the Empire 8 allowing one goal per game as well as with an 83.3 save percentage. Against Oneonta, Cushman saved five of the six shots that the Red Dragons fired off.
Balls on Net: While the Pioneers started the season slow on offense in its season opening loss to Oneonta,
Mackenzie Mix (Camden, NY/Camden) and
Kylee Wojciechowski (Holland Patent, NY/Holland Patent) offered a spark to the Utica scoring attack. The pair were responsible for both shots Utica was able to get off and will be looked upon to put points on the board against Morrisville. Utica will also look towards the likes of upperclassman
Shannon Jedreicich (Deer Park, NY/Half Hollow Hills East) as well as rookies
Riley Cosimeno (Sherrill, NY/Vernon-Verona-Sherrill) and
Samantha Young (Jordanville, NY/Little Falls) to move the scoring attack in the right direction.
About the Mustangs: Morrisville enters Friday with a 2-1 record after winning its previous two contests against Southern Virginia University and Medaille University. Emma Plett leads the team with two goals on seven attempts while three others have one goal on the early season. Morgan Dueber has played each minute in the cage this season and has allowed six goals (1.98 per game) and has recorded 28 saves on an 82.4 save percentage.
Up Next: The team will begin a five-game road trip when it travels to SUNY Brockport on Wednesday, September 14. Game time is set for 4 p.m.
