UTICA, NY - The Utica University women's lacrosse team begins a five-game road trip this week, starting at (RV) SUNY Cortland on Wednesday, February 28 at 4 p.m. On Saturday, March 2 Utica travels to Oswego State for a 1 p.m. start time.
 
Follow Along: Live stats for Cortland can be found here and live video can be located here. Live stats for Oswego can be found here. Check back later for live stream link for Oswego.
 
Last Time Out: The Utica University women's lacrosse team fell to SUNY New Paltz 10-6 on Saturday, February 24. Utica and New Paltz combined for 27 shots on goal, 16 for New Paltz and 11 for Utica. Bella Kolb (New Hartford, NY/New Hartford) led the Pioneers with three goals and four shots on goal. Grace Stuhlman (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro), Alyssa Drell (Mastic, NY/William Floyd) (Mastic, NY/William Floyd) and Samantha DeCondo (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) had one goal each. Maria Stuhlman (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) had the team's only two assists and collected a team-high four ground balls and one draw control. Kerry Carr (New Hartford, NY/Manhattanville College), Daniela Muscari (Millbrook, NY/Millbrook) and Samantha DeCondo (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) each had one shot on goal. Makayla Purdy (Shirley, NY/William Floyd) started in goal for Utica, registering six saves. Five came in the second half where she made some fantastic saves. New Paltz struck first with three minutes to play in the first quarter. Morgan Atwater scored an unassisted goal, giving the Hawks a 1-0 lead. Four minutes later Utica evened the game at one as Drell scored a woman-up goal. Two minutes later, New Paltz's Kaitlyn Shaw would score two unanswered to extend their lead to 3-1 heading into the second quarter. 55 seconds into the second, Shaw notched her third goal, giving New Paltz a 4-1 advantage. Six minutes later, Grace Stuhlman (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) cut the lead in half, 4-2 and 40 seconds later, Lexi Atwater put New Paltz up 5-2. The Hawks would score two more goals to end the second up 7-2. Utica started the third quarter on a high note with DeCondo scoring 1:12 into the third as Maria Stuhlman (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) made a beautiful pass to DeCondo, cutting the lead to 7-3. Both teams would go back and forth throughout the remainder of the third and fourth quarters. Bella Kolb (New Hartford, NY/New Hartford) started her Utica career off to a hot start after collecting her first career hat trick as a Pioneer. Kolb's goals came in the second half, one in the third and two in the fourth. New Paltz would go on to win 10-6.
 
Road Trip Time: Utica will be on the road for its next five games, starting with SUNY Cortland and finishing with SUNY Morrisville on Mach 20.
 
Point Production: The Pioneers had five players collect at least one point against the New Paltz Hawks, with two freshmen, Bella Kolb (New Hartford, NY/New Hartford) and Maria Stuhlman (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro), combining for five points. The reigning Empire 8 Women's Lacrosse Player of the Week, Bella Kolb (New Hartford, NY/New Hartford), posted three goals on four shots on goal against the Hawks. All three of her goals came in the second half, with her first as a free-position goal to keep Utica with three goals late in the third quarter. Maria Stuhlman (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) was a huge asset in the middle of the field for Utica. Her best play came with 1:12 on the clock where she cleared the ball upfield and found a cutting Samantha DeCondo (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro), who capitalized. Junior Grace Stuhlman (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) made some great plays at the draw circle, winning four along with scooping up three ground balls. Stuhlman's only goal came on a free-position shot mid-way through the first quarter.
 
Purdy Time: Makayla Purdy (Shirley, NY/William Floyd) shined in her first career start, earning Empire 8 Women's Goalie of the Week. Purdy collected six saves with five coming in the second half.
 
Scouting Cortland: The SUNY Cortland Red Dragons are 1-0 overall and 0-0 in the SUNYAC and received votes in the latest Division III Women's Lacrosse Rankings. In 2023, Cortland went 14-5 overall and 9-0 in league play after falling to SUNY Geneseo in the SUNYAC Finals, 11-9. The last time Utica and Cortland met was in 2023 when Cortland defeated Utica 17-6 behind Toni Cashman and Hannah Keech's five goals. In 2023, the trio of Cashman (39g, 21a), Keech (48g, 5a), Lauren Hopsicker (27g, 27a) and Amy Hoeffner (40g, 12a) combined for 218 points. Goaltender Margaret Morgan returns in 2024 after starting all 19 games, collecting 113 saves and a .433 save percentage. The Red Dragons return Cashman and Hoeffner in 2024 after their stellar seasons. The team is coming off an 11-10 overtime win against Skidmore University in its first game where Cashman and Hoeffner posted three goals each. Hoeffner recorded four assists to accompany her three goals, four draw controls and two ground balls. On the defensive end, junior Isabel Adams collected six ground balls and four caused turnovers.
 
Scouting Oswego: The SUNY Oswego Lakers are 1-0 overall and 0-0 in the SUNYAC. In 2023,  the Lakers went 13-5 overall and 7-2 in league play after falling in the SUNYAC Semifinals to eventual champion SUNY Geneseo, 15-9. The Pioneers and Lakers squared off in 2023 in a tightly contested matchup where Oswego would win 6-5 behind Isabella Lembo's three goals. Oswego started 2024 with a bang, defeating SUNY Morrisville Mustangs 21-5. After one game in 2024, the Lakers are led by Julia Quirk and Sela Wiley. Quirk had a solid performance against Morrisville scoring six goals on six shots on goal. Sela made her presence felt against the Mustangs with five assists, three goals, 11 draw controls and four caused turnovers. Between the pipes is junior Sara Kamide. Kamide has five saves and five goals against for a .500 save percentage.
 
Up Next: Utica travels to Buffalo, NY for a matchup against Buffalo State on Wednesday, March 2 at 5 p.m.