UTICA, NY - The Utica University women's soccer team will play two away Empire 8 matches against Elmira College and Keuka College this week. The team travels to Elmira on Wednesday at 4 p.m. before hitting the road again on Saturday against Keuka at 1 p.m. 
 
Follow Along: Wednesday's stream and live stats against Elmira can be found here: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/elmira/
Saturday's stream and live stats against Keuka can be found here: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/keukaathletics/
 
Last Time Out: The team honored its seniors and celebrated homecoming in a big way on Saturday with a 3-0 win over the Houghton University Highlanders. Utica tallied goals off the feet of Noella Burlette (Manchester, CT/Manchester), Rylee Lamphere (Little Falls, NY/Dolgeville) and Rory Richard (Barneveld, NY/Holland Patent). Gabriela Daumont (Latham, NY/Shaker) assisted on a pair of goals while Jenna Keeman (Douglas, MA/Douglas) provided help on the team's first one of the afternoon. In goal, Courtney Connolly (Warwick, NY/Warwick Valley) earned the win with six saves over 79:30 of action. Cierra Doolen (Frankfort, NY/Central Valley Academy) finished out the final 10:30 of play and recorded a pair of saves as well. The team outshot Houghton 17-11 overall and 9-8 on goal. Julianna Beaulieu (Southwick, MA/Chicopee Comprehensive) led the Pioneers with five shots and three on goal. Richard, Lamphere, Keeman, Burlette and Kaela Mochak (Westfield, MA/Westfield) had two looks. Each team drew one corner apiece while Houghton committed four fouls to Utica's two. The Pioneers turned in a dominating first half, outshooting the Highlanders 7-1 and 4-0 on goal. Despite the early opportunities, Utica couldn't convert over its first five attempts through 40 minutes of action. However, the final four and a half minutes of the first half provided plenty of spark leading into the second half. In the 41st minute, Jenna Keeman (Douglas, MA/Douglas) sent a beautiful floating pass from midfield to Noella Burlette (Manchester, CT/Manchester) who found herself 15 yards out with Houghton defenders beat. Burlette collected the pass and got it past the charging goalkeeper to put Utica on the board. Just over two minutes later, a series of nice setup passes led to Rylee Lamphere (Little Falls, NY/Dolgeville) putting the team up 2-0 thanks to a pinpoint cross by Gabriela Daumont (Latham, NY/Shaker). Daumont recorded her second assist of the game in the 53rd minute with a similar play to that of Keeman in the first half. From near midfield, the senior sent the ball up field with Rory Richard (Barneveld, NY/Holland Patent) charging on it. Once again, Highlanders goalie Alliah Fluent came charging out of the box but was caught too far as Richard pushed the ball past and scored with ease. From there, the sides traded shots while the Highlanders put together strings of close looks. The visitors had two shots on goal that came in the 75th and 77th minutes, as well as another tries in the 84th and 85th minutes. The duo of Courtney Connolly (Warwick, NY/Warwick Valley) and Cierra Doolen (Frankfort, NY/Central Valley Academy) would, however, preserve the shutout victory. 

Lock Down D': Jenna Keeman (Douglas, MA/Douglas), Cora Kraft (Poughquag, NY/Arlington), Samantha Kogut (North Adams, MA/Drury), Kayla Giovingo (Centereach, NY/Centereach) and goalkeeper Courtney Connolly (Warwick, NY/Warwick Valley) have been dominant on the defensive end. Thanks to the defensive presence near the box, the group has helped limit opponents to just 11 goals in ten matches. Utica's mark of 1.10 goals allowed per game is the third-fewest in the Empire 8. 

Team Presence: Utica's offense has been heating up, scoring six goals over its last three matches. The team leads the Empire 8 with 18 goals as well as with 14 assisted goals for an average of nearly two goals a game, good for second in the league. Utica has shown great discipline throughout the season committing the least amount of fouls in the conference with 42 and the least amount of offsides with nine. 

Offensive Weapons: Rylee Lamphere (Little Falls, NY/Dolgeville), Julianna Beaulieu (Southwick, MA/Chicopee Comprehensive), and Rory Richard (Barneveld, NY/Holland Patent) have produced the most points over the last two matches. Lamphere remains the leader in the Empire 8 with four assists. Midway through this season, Lamphere has already matched her point total of eight from the 2022 season. Beaulieu recorded her second goal of the season in an exciting conference matchup against Hartwick. She ranks in the top-10 in the Empire 8 with 21 shots and 12 shots on goal. Richard had an assist and goal in back-to-back matches against Hartwick and Houghton. She has four points on the season and is on track to match her point total of five from the 2022 season. 
 
Scouting Elmira: Elmira is 3-7-1 overall and 0-3 in the Empire 8. The team is coming off two 1-0 losses against Russell Sage College and St. John University. Redshirt junior Sarah Wagner leads Elmira with nine points on three goals and three assists and ranks fourth in the conference with nine points. Tierney Krawczyk and Ally Stilo have three goals and one assist. Stilo has three goals on six shots on goal. Krawczyk leads the Soaring Eagles with 15 shots on goal. Nevaeh Winston has started all 11 matches for Elmira, with two shutouts. She sports a .812 save percentage and 1.56 goals against average. Elmira is 17-11 all-time against Utica, however, the Pioneers have won the last seven meetings dating back to 2016. 
 
Scouting Keuka: Keuka is 1-7-1 overall and 1-2 in the Empire 8. The team is coming off a 6-0 loss against Nazareth University. Teagen Carter and Grace DeCapua each have one goal on the season. The two goals scored on the season, both came in their 2-0 victory against conference opponent, Hartwick College. Parter Lahey and Kayla Suppa have one assist each. Sam Pelcher is the starting goalkeeper for the Wolves. She has a .714 save percentage and a 2.06 goals against average. 
 
Up Next: The team hosts Russell Sage College on Wednesday, October 11 at 7 p.m.