UTICA, NY - The Utica University field hockey team gears up for two away games on Wednesday, October 9 at 5 p.m. against Nazareth University and Saturday, October 12 at 3:30 p.m. at Houghton University.
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Last Time Out: It was a magical afternoon for the Pioneer Field Hockey team on Saturday, October 5. 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.
Hat Tricks: Graduate student
Alyssa Pisano (Hopewell Junction, NY/Arlington) and Junior Alanna Fragapne both had hat tricks in their last game against Keuka. Pisano scored her first of three goals off a rebound for the second goal of the game. She also got the third goal of the game with a shot in between the legs of the goalkeeper. Her third goal was the final goal of the game, which was shot in the air over the back line. Fragapane had two goals back to back, first was shot in from the left side after 2 rebounds. Her second was a pass across the goal and then sent in. Her third goal was crossed and then put in at the left post.
Penalty Shots: Mix had the first goal of the last game against Keuka with a penalty shot, making it her second goal of the season. In their previous game against Keystone, Benincasa scored her fourth goal of the season and the final goal of the game on a penalty shot.
Heating Up: Madison
Ranalli,
Ryleigh Johnson (Camden, NY/Camden),
Nicole Servider (Westbury, NY/W.T. Clarke) and Young have played stout over the past two games on defense, allowing only one goal and 13 shots. In the second half against Keuka, the team didn't allow any shots along with zero penalty corners.
About Nazareth: The Golden Flyers are 3-6 overall and 2-2 in league play. The team is coming off a 4-1 loss against Rochester and a 3-2 loss against Hartwick. Michaela Cushman leads Nazareth with six goals and three assists, along with 16 shots on goal. Audra Mieczkowski is second with five goals and two assists. Lydia Coombs leads the team with four defensive saves and Morgan Russo has been the team's primary starting goalie, sporting a 2.92 goals-against average and a .731 save percentage.
Scouting Houghton: Houghton is 5-6 overall and 0-4 in Empire 8 play. The Highlanders dropped its last six games, four of which were lost by one goal. Houghton started out the season 5-0, outsourcing its opponents 18 to 7. Bekah Davie leads Houghton with eight goals on 12 shots on goal. Deborah Cross and Jace Hunzinger were second on the team with four goals and three assists. Amber Cribbs has started al l1 games, posting a 2.31 goals against average and a .758 save percentage.
Up Next: Utica hosts Union College on Wednesday, October 16 at 4 p.m. on ABM Field at Gaetano Stadium
