UTICA, NY - The Utica University women's soccer team continues Empire 8 conference play this week as the team travels to Oneonta, NY to take on the Hartwick College Hawks on Wednesday, October 16 at 6p.m. The team then returns home to host Nazareth University on Saturday, October 19 at 5p.m in the team's .
 
Follow Along: Live video for Wednesday's matchup can be found at https://www.empire8network.com/hartwick/ and live stats can be found at https://www.hartwickhawks.com/sidearmstats/wsoc/summary Live video for Saturday can be found at https://www.empire8network.com/utica/ and live stats can be found at https://uticapioneers.com/sidearmstats/wsoc/summary 
 
Last Time Out: The Utica University women's soccer team ended its Empire 8 Conference match against Alfred University in a scoreless draw on Saturday evening. Cora Kraft (Poughquag, NY/Arlington) and Rylee Lamphere (Little Falls, NY/Dolgeville) each recorded two shots in the contest. Kayla Giovingo (Centereach, NY/Centereach), Samantha Kogut (North Adams, MA/Drury), Bella Noble (Staten Island, NY/Tottenville), Amber Piersma (Cassville, NY/Mount Markham), and Rory Richard (Barneveld, NY/Holland Patent) each tallied one shot in the contest. In goal, Courtney Connolly (Warwick, NY/Warwick Valley) recorded two saves in the scoreless effort. Utica outshot the Saxons by a 9-8 margin, and tripled the Saxons in corners 3-0. 
 
Where We Stand: With two weeks remaining in the regular season, the Pioneers are currently in the eighth spot in the Empire 8 rankings. Securing the eighth spot in the rankings would secure the Pioneers a spot in the expanded Empire 8 conference tournament. As a team, the Pioneers are currently in the fourth spot on the conference leaderboard in shots with 160 and are averaging 6.62 shots on goal per game. Utica has outscored its opponents 20-16, allowing the sixth least goals to opponents in the conference. 
 
Shooters Shoot: Eighteen different Pioneers have recorded a shot this season, recording 160 shots and 86 shots on goal. Amber Piersma (Cassville, NY/Mount Markham) still holds the team's top spot with 31 shots and 20 shots on goal. Piersma's marks are good enough for the seventh spot on the conference leaderboard. Rylee Lamphere (Little Falls, NY/Dolgeville) falls behind Piersma on the team leaderboard with 25 shots and 12 shots on goal. Bella Noble (Staten Island, NY/Tottenville) is right behind Lamphere with 24 shots and 13 on goal. 
 
Defenders Assemble: Samantha Kogut (North Adams, MA/Drury), Cora Kraft (Poughquag, NY/Arlington) and Kayla Giovingo (Centereach, NY/Centereach) have gotten themselves in the offensive mix for the Pioneers. Craft has notched six shots on goal, while Kogut and Giovingo have each recorded four. Giovingo has found the back of the net twice this season. The trio of defenders have also played the most minutes of the Pioneers, each logging over 1100 minutes this season. 
 
Scouting Hartwick: The Hartwick College Hawks are 4-4-4 on the season so far, and 1-3-3 in Empire 8 Conference play. Grace Byrne, Reilly Groff, Morgan Perry and Stella Rowley each have notched two goals for the Hawks this season. Byrne is the team's top shot taker, recording 20 shots and 14 shots on goal. Goalkeeper Meghan Perry has recorded four shutouts this season, posting a 1.33 goals against average. Perry has made 45 stops so far this season, posting a .738 save percentage. All time, the Pioneers are 10-15-4 against the Hawks, with last season's matchup ending in a 1-1 draw. 
 
Looking at Naz: The Nazareth University Golden Flyers have posted a 6-4-2 record so far this season and are 3-1-2 in conference play. Tatum Overton is the team's top goal scorer, putting up seven goals so far this season. Overton has notched 39 shots and 16 shots on goal for the Golden Flyers, averaging 3.25 shots per game, a mark good enough for second on the conference leaderboard. Goalkeeper Annika Monfort has posted a 1.49 goals against average this season, banking four shutouts so far. She has made 48 saves, posting a .750 save percentage. Last season, Nazareth took the matchup by a score of 1-0. 

Up Next: The Pioneers will travel to Canton, NY to take on the St. Lawrence University Saints in a non-conference matchup. Game time on October 23 is set for 6pm.