UTICA, NY - Pioneer Field Hockey will bounce over to Casamento Field on Saturday for their final 2024 contest against the Russell Sage College Gators. The season-finale will take place at 11:00 AM on Saturday, November 2nd.
 
How to Watch: Follow along live this Saturday by clicking the "Watch" tab on either the athletics homepage or under the contest in the 2024 field hockey schedule page. You can also follow the link below to watch Saturday's action.
Saturday vs Russell Sage Stream Link: https://www.empire8network.com/utica/?B=1147054
 
Live Statistics: Get live statistics updates for every Field Hockey matchup by following the link below to the live stats page, or by selecting the "Live Stats" tab under each matchup on our 2024 Field Hockey schedule page.
Saturday vs Russell Sage Live Stat Link: https://uticapioneers.com/sidearmstats/fhockey/summary
 
Last Time Out: The Pioneers welcomed new conference foe Brockport to ABM Field on Saturday evening with the hopes of notching a huge Empire 8 win while also dropping the Golden Eagles down the standings column. Early on, it seemed like that goal might come to fruition, as Utica made sure that the game stayed in their offensive half for nearly the entire first quarter. The Golden Eagles eventually found their footing though, scoring a goal right before halftime and then using the midway break to craft a game plan that allowed them to pull away in the second half, securing a 3-1 win and keeping their place near the top of the Empire 8 standings. The Pioneers were very dangerous on Saturday night despite the multi-score loss, as they outshot the Golden Eagles by a tally of 18-12 and also landed 14 of those shots on goal for a 78% accuracy rate. Utica also out-gained the Golden Eagles in the penalty corner department, getting 10 chances from the backline as opposed to seven chances from their opponent. Alyssa Pisano (Hopewell Junction, NY/Arlington) scored the lone Pioneer goal of the contest, stepping in front of the goalkeeper on a Mia Benincasa (Gansevoort, NY/South Glens Falls) crossing pass to slide the ball easily into the net and cut the deficit to just one score early in the fourth quarter. Pisano added to her team-leading goal tally, now having 11 scores in 2024. Benincasa also added another assist to her total, with the Freshman sensation having the third most points on the squad (19) behind Pisano and another senior in Mackenzie Mix (Camden, NY/Camden). The rookie forward was also very active offensively, ripping 10 shots and seeing nine of them end up on-goal. Mix and Pisano also added two shots on goal each in the match. Freshman goalkeeper Ismiah ChinQuee (Freehold, NJ/Freehold) also saw her second start in goal for the Pioneers, recording 8 saves in a great effort.
 
Freshman Focus: An important and interesting development throughout the season has been the emergence of some future Pioneer superstars, with this year's crop of rookies having great seasons during their first year in the Orange and Blue. High school teammates Mia Benincasa (Gansevoort, NY/South Glens Falls) and Lauren Durfey (Gansevoort, NY/South Glens Falls) have each logged over 500 minutes of game action this season and have been integral parts of the Pioneer offense. Just a season after piloting South Glens Falls to a 17-1 record, the duo of Foothills Council playmakers have been getting it done on the collegiate stage, making their mark as pillars of the future for a young Pioneer team. Durfey, the main corner-taker for the team, has been a steady guiding hand on many scores from the spot. Benincasa, on the other hand, has been on the receiving end of many Durfey corners and has had a spectacular debut campaign in her own right, owning eight goals and three assists to give her 19 points on the season, 17th in the entire Empire 8. Joining the two impactful field players as a standout first year is goaltender Ismiah ChinQuee (Freehold, NJ/Freehold), who has put together a solid first year in the cage for Utica. The New Jersey native has seen action in eight games, getting two starting nods and guarding the cage for over 275 minutes. In her eight appearances, ChinQuee has allowed 11 goals and saved 30 shots at a 73% rate, solid numbers for a player getting their first glance at the level of offense presented on the NCAA circuit.
 
The Future is Bright: The Pioneers, despite having some excellent Senior leadership, are an exceptionally young team, with a majority of their minutes being allotted to underclassmen. 91 of the 165 total starts (55%) registered this season for Utica have been by Juniors, Sophomore and Freshman, with the Juniors having 15% of the total starts, Sophomores having 27% of starts, and Freshman having 13% of starts. In addition, the main substitutes for the team come from the underclassmen ranks, meaning that it will likely be a smooth transition into next season for lots of second-unit standouts that are looking to enter the starting lineup. Despite having to replace some stellar scoring numbers from Seniors Mackenzie Mix (Camden, NY/Camden) and Alyssa Pisano (Hopewell Junction, NY/Arlington), the Pioneers may look to shift to a more balanced style of play, using their superb depth over the next few seasons to wear their opponents down.
 
Pioneer Prestige: Pisano and Benincasa stayed atop the Empire 8 shots on goal column, with both players launching a healthy number of shots on target during last week's action. Pisano is currently sixth with 37 shots towards the cage and Benincasa places ninth in the conference with 31 shots on goal. The pair of Pioneer attackers also rank highly in the total goals category as well, with Pisano placing seventh with 11 goals and Benincasa placing 12th with eight scores.
 
Mix has also been a top playmaker this season, ranking sixth in the conference for assists with six.
 
Pisano, Benincasa, and Mix all rank in the top 20 for total points. Pisano is eighth with 24 points, Mix is 13th with 20 points, and Benincasa is 17th with 19 points.
 
Madison Ranalli (Cicero, NY/Cicero-North Syracuse) still ranks highly for defensive saves, placing fourth in the conference with six defensive saves.
 
Scouting Sage: The Gators have a 1-14 record so far in 2024, picking up a lone conference victory over Elmira. Russell Sage had an early stretch of good offense during their final non-conference games and first conference matchups, scoring 16 goals over five games during the month of September. Since their early scoring outburst, offense has been tough to generate for the Gators, with the team producing just two goals since their September contest against RPI.
Alexa Wentz leads the Gators in goals with six while also having two assists on the season. The Gators' other main threat is Cheyanne Zobel, who has been dangerous as both a scorer and playmaker, tallying five goals and five assists.
 
Jaia Caron and Olivia Brand have split time in the cage as the main goalkeeper for the Gators, with the former having eight starts and the latter having seven. Caron has 93 saves and Brand has 123.
 
The Series - Sage: Last year, the Gators traveled to Gaetano Stadium in an Empire 8 first round matchup that provided lots of fireworks for both teams. The Pioneers scored twice early in the proceedings, however both goals were almost immediately countered by the Gators. After 14 minutes of peace and quiet during the third quarter, the Pioneers found a decisive goal during the opening minutes of the fourth quarter, giving them a 3-2 win over the Gators to send the Albany team packing from the 2023 Empire 8 Tournament.
 
The Pioneers are 6-0 all-time vs the Gators, winning every matchup since the first game of the rivalry back in 2018. The last three matchups have been nailbiters, with all three being decided by a single goal including last year's playoff tilt.
 
Up Next: The Pioneers have officially been eliminated from Empire 8 postseason play, meaning that Saturday's matchup will conclude the 2024 season for Pioneer Field Hockey.