UTICA, NY - It was a magical afternoon for the Pioneer Field Hockey team on Saturday. The hosts welcomed Keuka College to Gaetano Stadium while seeking their first Empire 8 victory of the season. The Pioneers would nab that all-important first win in emphatic fashion, with Alyssa Pisano (Hopewell Junction, NY/Arlington) and Alanna Fragapane (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy) each netting 3 goals en-route to an 8-0 statement victory over Keuka.
 
The dangerous duo's show of offensive force resulted in the first (and second) 3-goal outing by any Pioneer player this year and ensured that the Saturday afternoon contest would be etched into the Utica record books.
 
The 8-goal outing now sits tied atop the record books for the most amount of goals that any Pioneer squad has scored in a single game.
 
Contributing to that total was the aforementioned pair of Pisano and Fragapane who had 3 apiece, as well as veteran star Mackenzie Mix (Camden, NY/Camden) who finished with 2 goals and an assist on the day.
 
Pisano doubled her goal total on the year, jumping from 3 goals scored at the beginning of the day, to now having 6 goals scored, the highest total by a Pioneer player this season.
 
Fragapane saw her total skyrocket as well, as she's now tied for second place in the goal-scoring department with 4 scores.
 
The Pioneers distributed the ball especially well in the match, finding many passes across the face of the cage which led to many of their scores. In fact, 5 different players got in on the playmaking party, with assists being tallied by Mix, Jocelyn Spiezio (Greenwich, NY/Greenwich), Samantha Young (Jordanville, NY/Little Falls), and a double-assist on the final goal courtesy of Madison Ranalli (Cicero, NY/Cicero-North Syracuse) and Mia Benincasa (Gansevoort, NY/South Glens Falls).
 
Hannah Young (Jordanville, NY/Little Falls) also had herself a day in the cage, stopping all 5 of the Wolves' attempts to finish the game with her first shutout victory of the season.
 
The Pioneers outshot Keuka by a total of 20-18. Not only did the Pioneers launch a large volume of shots, but they also were deadly efficient, landing 18 of those 20 shots on goal for a shots on goal percentage of 90%.
 
The Pioneers gained 10 corners to the Wolves' 8, but allowed 7 of those opposing corners in the opening-quarter, meaning that they outgained Keuka 8-1 on corners over the final three quarters.
 
Game Summary:
 
The Wolves came out of the gate hot, arranging an impressive amount of opening attacks and forcing 7 corners in only 12 minutes of play to start the contest.
 
The Pioneer defense stood tall, shutting out the initial volley of shots from their Empire 8 foe.
 
With Keuka looking like they may find a breakthrough, the Pioneers turned the game on it's head by forcing the Wolves to commit a costly error in their own circle which resulted in a Pioneer penalty stroke.
 
Cool veteran Mackenzie Mix (Camden, NY/Camden) stepped up to take the shot and buried it in the upper left corner of the cage for a 1-0 lead that was totally against the run of play. However, the tides would turn heavily in Utica's favor after their first strike.
 
Right off of the restart, the Pioneer offense pushed down deep into Keuka territory, where Alyssa Pisano (Hopewell Junction, NY/Arlington) once again displayed her superior knack for offensive positioning. Pisano placed herself in a dangerous spot at the center of the Wolves' circle and awaited an opportunity to add to Utica's newfound lead. Her chance came when a rebound landed right in her vicinity, and she made sure to capitalize, firing in the ensuing ball for a 2-0 lead.
 
Utica took their sudden 2-goal lead into the second quarter, where the gears really began to turn on offense for the Pioneers.
 
Midway through the second frame, Pisano found another spot in center-circle and received a beautiful pass from running-mate Mackenzie Mix (Camden, NY/Camden) for her second score of the day.
 
The Pioneers then put the finishing touches on an extraordinary first half when Alanna Fragapane (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy) came off of the bench late in the second quarter and guided in 2 goals from the left post to give her squad a 5-0 halftime lead.
 
Fragapane found a perfect lane to patrol, with the Junior from nearby Rome, NY sneaking to the back post and scoring her two goals within only 30 seconds of one another.
 
Fragapane didn't let the halftime break cool her down, as she found the hat trick early in the third quarter, receiving an accurate pass across the cage from Samatha Young for her 3rd goal of the afternoon.
 
Mix scored a 7th goal on a breakaway before the Pioneers had an excellent corner play to bring them to the final 8-0 scoreline.
 
The 8th goal came off of a Utica corner, with Mia Benincasa (Gansevoort, NY/South Glens Falls) sending the ball to Madison Ranalli (Cicero, NY/Cicero-North Syracuse), who then found Pisano center circle, resulting in the decisive 3rd goal for Pisano. Pisano bounced Ranalli's pass up and over the Wolves back line for her hat trick goal.
 
The Pioneers captured their first Empire 8 win of 2024 and will look to build on their recent momentum when they head to Nazareth and Houghton next week.