UTICA, NY - The Utica University women's lacrosse team will remain on the road for two games against Buffalo State and Bryn Mawr College this week. On Wednesday, March 6 Utica travels to Buffalo State for a 5 p.m. start time followed by Bryn Mawr on Saturday, March 9 at noon.
 
Follow Along: Buffalo State's live stream can be found here and live stats here. Tune into Saturday's live stream against Bryn Mawr here and live stats here.
 
Last Time Out: The Utica University women's lacrosse team topped SUNY Oswego 19-12 on Saturday, March 2 to pick up its first win of the 2024 season. Grace Stuhlman (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) had a fantastic day, tying her career-high with six goals and a whopping eight points. Samantha DeCondo (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) also had a strong game with three goals, one assist, and two ground balls. The trio of Maria Stuhlman (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro), Kerry Carr (New Hartford, NY/Manhattanville College), and Alyssa Drell (Mastic, NY/William Floyd) all tallied three points in the contest with a pair of goals and one assist. Alyssa Pisano (Hopewell Junction, NY/Arlington) and Courtney Fish (Albany, NY/Albany) each scored two goals with the goals being the first of Fish's collegiate career. Makayla Purdy (Shirley, NY/William Floyd) did well in goal, recording her first collegiate win and making a career-high 11 saves which was nearly double her previous career-high. Oswego got its offense rolling with a pair of quick goals to grab an early 2-0 lead with 12:39 remaining in the first quarter. Yet Utica quickly shifted the tide, scoring an incredible eight-straight goals to take a commanding 8-2 lead after the first quarter of play. Grace Stuhlman (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) and Alyssa Pisano (Hopewell Junction, NY/Arlington) played crucial roles in the scoring run, each scoring a pair of goals. The scoring continued with Grace Stuhlman (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) securing her hat trick, ripping a shot past the Oswego goalie at the 12:12 mark to extend the Pioneers lead to 9-2. Utica continued to keep the ball in the attacking zone with Courtney Fish (Albany, NY/Albany) scoring her first collegiate goal at the 9:10 mark and giving Utica a 10-2 lead. The Lakers scored at the 7:30 mark to cut the deficit to 10-3 but DeCondo nabbed her second goal of the contest at the 6:31 mark to give Utica an 11-3 advantage. The Pioneers kept rolling with Grace Stuhlman (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) scoring again at the 5:20 mark to make it a 12-3 game. Oswego had a nice run at the end of the half scoring three goals while allowing just one Pioneer goal, Courtney Fish (Albany, NY/Albany) at the 1:08 mark to cut the Utica edge to 13-6 at the half. The scoring slowed down in the third quarter with both defenses stepping it up and clogging the shooting lanes. DeCondo secured her hat trick at the 14:22 mark to make it a 14-6 game. Oswego scored just three minutes later but Utica responded again with Drell scoring her second goal of the game to push the Pioneers' lead to 15-7 at the 6:45 mark. Oswego scored one goal, yet Utica responded as the teams each exchanged goals with Utica holding an 18-9 edge after three quarters of play. The Lakers opened up the scoring in the fourth quarter trimming the Utica lead to 18-10 with 12:36 remaining in the contest. Grace Stuhlman (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) continued to have a game, scoring her sixth goal of the day to give the Pioneers a 19-10 lead with just less than 10 minutes remaining. Both defenses played well down the stretch with Utica hanging on for a 19-12 win.
 
 
Seeing Double: Grace Stuhlman (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) and Maria Stuhlman (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) are lighting up the box scores as of late combining for 19 points in three games. Grace Stuhlman (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) the Co-Player of the Week tied her career-high with six goals and two assists for eight points on March 2 against Oswego. She leads the conference with 17 draw controls and 12 points (10g, 2a) along with 13 shots on goal. Maria Stuhlman (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) has three goals, four assists and six ground balls through her first three career games.
 
Ballin Blaszka: Aana Blaszka (Hampstead, NH/Pinkerton Academy) leads the Empire 8 with nine ground balls in three games. She has seven in the last two games and two caused turnovers, making her a premier defender in the league.
 
Spreading it Around: Five players have at least three goals in three games. Samantha DeCondo (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) has four goals and two assists. Her 130 goals tie her for fourth all-time in the Pioneer career record book. Grace Stuhlman (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) (10g, 2a), Maria Stuhlman (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) (3g, 4a) Kerry Carr (New Hartford, NY/Manhattanville College) (3g, 1a), Alyssa Drell (Mastic, NY/William Floyd) (3g, 1a) and Bella Kolb (New Hartford, NY/New Hartford) (3g, 0a) follow behind. DeCondo, Grace Stuhlman (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) and Maria Stuhlman (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) have stayed consistent, collecting a point in each game.
 
Scouting Buffalo State: The Buffalo State Bengals are 0-1 overall with no SUNYAC games played. The Bengals' first game of 2024 was on March 2 against Lycoming College, falling 21-15.  In 2023, the team went 6-9 overall and 2-7 in league play. The Bengals defeated Utica 17-11 in the last matchup on March 4, 2016. Buffalo State is led by Vanessa Willick (6g, 0a and 10 draw controls), Emilee Josker (3g, 1a)  and Sage Rabbit-Running (2g, 2a). Willick led the team in 2023 with 39 goals and seven assists. Moira Penot and Brielle Lum saw time in goal against Lycoming combining for 21 goals against and four saves.
 
Scouting Bryn Mawr: The team is currently 0-3 in 2024. Before clashing with Utica the team will face Immaculata University on March 6 at 4 p.m. In 2023, the Owls were led by Camille Franklin's 34 goals and two assists, Sloan Johnson's 29 goals and six assists and Meghan O'Shea led Bryn Mawr with 12 helpers. Camille Franklin led the team with 30 draw controls and currently leads the Owls after three games in 2024 with 12. Mia Rey, Cailey Brousseau and Erica James saw time in net in the first three games.  This is the first time Utica and Bryn Mawr face off.
 
Up Next:  Utica closes its five-game road trip against Plattsburgh State on Saturday, March 16 at 1 p.m.