UTICA, NY - The Utica University men's soccer team is set to begin a two-match week hosting Hamilton College on Wednesday, September 27 at 4:30 p.m. and Nazareth University on Saturday, September 30 at 7 p.m.
 
Follow Along: Those unable to attend either of this week's games can tune in for live video and/or stats here.
 
Last Time Out: The Utica University Pioneers men's soccer team tied with the SUNY Delhi Broncos on Tuesday evening 1-1. Utica outshot Delhi 13-8 and had an 8-3 shot on goal advantage. Byamungu Mugushu (Syracuse, NY/Bishop Grimes) and Anderson Velazquez (Norwood, NY/Marble Hill) led the Pioneers with five shots each. Noah Nassberg (Naples, FL/Gulf Coast) and Brady Barnard (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool) added one shot on goal of their own. Cody Baker-Green's (Warwick, NY/Warwick Valley) only shot was a penalty kick which evened the game at one late in the second half. The first half of play saw a close and competitive match. Delhi found some momentum early in the half, Anthony Cuellar connected with Roberto Osorio-Velasquez to put the Broncos up 1-0. Utica was able to get a plethora of shots off, but could not find the back of the net. Mugushu led the team with three shots on goal in the first half while Velasquez added one shot on goal. Delhi added three shots of their own from Michael Williams Jr., Matt Serrao and Cuellar. What was a close start to the second half turned into a tie game, thanks to Cody Baker-Green (Warwick, NY/Warwick Valley) with his first goal of the season on a penalty kick to tie the match 1-1. The rest of the first half stayed close but did not see much action within the boxes. Eduardo Paez (Eastchester, NY/Eastchester) got the start in net for Utica, and only saw three shots on goal, saving two. 
 
Where We Stand: Utica continues to rank in the top half of the conference in shots, points, goals, and saves. The team continues to be able to create scoring opportunities averaging 14 shots per game including 6.71 on goal. Byamungu Mugushu (Syracuse, NY/Bishop Grimes) is third in the Empire 8 with 26 shots this season and continues to fire off shots for the Pioneers. In net, Foti Xidias (Carteret, NJ/Carteret) is second in the conference averaging 4.75 saves per game.
 
Stepping Up: Eduardo Paez (Eastchester, NY/Eastchester) has been on a tear in his last three outings allowing just four goals while making 10 saves on 36 shots faced. The senior has denied plenty of tough shots against resilient opponents such as No. 13 SUNY Oneonta, Elmira College, and SUNY Delhi which has boosted his record this season to 0-1-2 including a shutout against Elmira. Paez has helped keep the team in games and is a major part of the team's success as the team heads into a key stretch of conference play.
 
Recent Success: The Pioneers are hoping to continue its recent success against Nazareth after beating them in both outings last season. On October 1, 2022, Utica trailed 2-0 at the half yet goals by Cody Baker-Green (Warwick, NY/Warwick Valley), Nicholas Theimer (Flagstaff, AZ/Flagstaff), and Noah Scranton (Utica, NY/Whitesboro) in the second half propelled the team to a victory. On November 1, 2022 in the Empire 8 First Round, Byamungu Mugushu (Syracuse, NY/Bishop Grimes) found the back of the net from a beautiful pass by Nico Leonard (Long Beach Township, NJ/Southern Regional) to lead Utica to the 1-0 win and season sweep.
 
Scouting Hamilton: The Continentals are 2-3-2 this season and sport a 1-3-1 record in NESCAC play. Hamilton beat Wesleyan University 2-0 in its most recent match on Sunday, September 24. The team is very balanced with eight different goal scorers this season while Ross Eagle is the team's leader with two. Luke Peplowski is the team's top facilitator with three assists this season while Luke Ehrenfreund is also another premier passer with two assists thus far. Kai Haesslein is the team's top goaltender starting in six of the seven games this season. He sports a 2-3-1 record with 22 saves, a .710 save percentage and just nine goals allowed this season.
 
Looking at Nazareth: The Golden Flyers are 7-0-1 and boast a 2-0 Empire 8 record which has them atop the conference standings. The team topped Hartwick College 1-0 in its most recent outing on Saturday, September 23 to collect its second Empire 8 win of the season. Jake Pawlika leads the offense and has the most goals (8) and points (17) in the conference. Drew Decker is another player to look out for as he has three goals and four assists and is another premier part of the team's offense. Patrick Larkin is the team's top goaltender with a 6-0-1 record and leads the Empire 8 allowing just 0.69 average goals allowed per game. Larkin also boasts 31 saves, a .861 save percentage and has allowed just five goals this season.

Up Next: The team will head to Oneonta, NY to face Hartwick College on Wednesday, October 4 at 7 p.m.