UTICA, NY - The Utica University field hockey team hits the road Saturday to take on the St. John Fisher University Cardinals in an Empire 8 Conference matchup. Game time in Rochester, NY is set for 1 p.m.
 
Follow Along: St. John Fisher will provide live video through https://portal.stretchinternet.com/sjfc/ and live stats through https://sjfathletics.com/sidearmstats/fhockey/summary. 
 
Where We Stand: The Pioneers currently find themselves in the middle of the pack in the highly competitive Empire 8 standings. Through nine games, five different Pioneers have been able to find the back of the cage. Alyssa Pisano (Hopewell Junction, NY/Arlington) leads the team in goals with seven, followed by Shannon Jedreicich (Deer Park, NY/Half Hollow Hills East), Alanna Fragpane, and Mackenzie Mix (Camden, NY/Camden) who have each tallied two. Ruby Mehan (Schuylerville, NY/Schuylerville) has also scored the first goal of her collegiate career. The Pioneers are entering the thick of conference play following a non-conference overtime win over Oswego State last week. Five out of Utica's remaining six regular season games are against Empire 8 opponents. 
 
Lights-Out: Desirae Baumann (Accord, NY/Rondout Valley) was named the Empire 8 Defensive Player of the Week for her outing against Oswego. She notched her second win of the season last Wednesday as her stellar play helped lift Utica to a 2-1 overtime win over Oswego State. Over nearly 66 minutes of play, Baumann allowed just one goal and made four saves that included two between the fourth quarter and OT. Despite 12 penalty corner opportunities for the Lakers, Baumann's presence in the cage resulted in no goals off each chance Oswego had. Baumann has posted a .542 save percentage with 26 saves on the season so far. 
 
Providing the Fireworks: Alyssa Pisano (Hopewell Junction, NY/Arlington) netted her third career game winning goal of the season last week versus Oswego State. A 1-1 stalemate would head to overtime where Pisano would have an opportunity to seal the deal but could not find the back of the cage on the first try. Pisano would avenge her near misses three minutes later, as Shannon Jedreicich (Deer Park, NY/Half Hollow Hills East) found Pisano in the middle of the field for a shot roughly three yards out that she rifled into the back of the cage for the game-winner. Pisano currently holds the team's top spot in the goal column. Through her eight games, Pisano has found the back of the cage seven times. Her offensive efforts have placed her within the top-10 goal scorers within the Empire 8. The senior also leads the team in points, with 14. 
 
Still on Top: Recording 12 defensive saves so far this season, Madison Ranalli's (Cicero, NY/Cicero-North Syracuse) mark places her at the top of the national leaderboard, besting Division I and II players by almost double. Ranalli set a new single season defensive saves record last season, with 15; a record that had remained unbroken since 2019. Ranalli's current mark of 12 puts her on pace to shatter her existing record with six games remaining in the regular season. Ranalli's current career mark of 27 puts her atop the career record book as well, setting the bar miles above the current second place holder with 13. As if that wasn't impressive enough, Ranalli is eyeing the Empire 8 record of 33 career defensive saves that is currently held by Marisa Walck (Nazareth, 2014-17). 
 
About Fisher: The St. John Fisher Cardinals are currently 4-5 this season but remain undefeated at 2-0 in conference play. Audrey Grieb leads the Cardinals in goals with six on the season. Behind Grieb is Emma Cooper, who has tallied four goals this season, while dishing out a team high eight assists as well as leading the team in points with 16. Between the pipes for the Cardinals the duo of Sophia Trozzi and Senja Matson have combined for 129 saves this season. Trozzi has done the bulk of the work for the Cardinals, boasting a .802 save percentage so far this season, as well as a 2.89 goals against average. All time, the Pioneers are 8-9 against the Cardinals, with St. John Fisher taking the last matchup by a score of 3-1. 
 
Up Next: The Pioneers will return home to take on Russell Sage College in its Breast Cancer Awareness Game on Wednesday, October 11. Game time from Charles A. Gaetano Stadium is set for 4 p.m.