UTICA, NY - Women's lacrosse readies for Empire 8 action against Hartwick College on Wednesday, April 17 at 4 p.m.
 
Follow Along: Live video and stats for Hartwick can be found here.
 
Last Time Out: The team's 10-game winning streak was snapped on Saturday afternoon following an 18-3 road loss to the St. John Fisher University Cardinals. Grace Stuhlman (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) scored twice in the game while Utica's other goal came from Daniela Muscari (Millbrook, NY/Millbrook). Maria Stuhlman (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) and Kerry Carr (New Hartford, NY/Manhattanville College) each had one assist. Samantha DeCondo (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) led the Pioneers with two ground balls and two caused turnovers. In goal, Makayla Purdy (Shirley, NY/William Floyd)made nine saves over her 60 minutes of play in the losing effort. The Cardinals out-shot the Pioneers 39-12 and collected 22 ground balls to Utica's six. Both teams had multiple free position shots as well with the Pioneers going 0-for-2 and Fisher making four of seven. Both teams scored within the first nine minutes of the first quarter. Sydney Carpenter handed Fisher an early 1-0 edge with 9:57 to go in the first before Grace Stuhlman (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) came back to even the score at the 7:17 mark. However, the Cardinals would score two unanswered to close out the frame as part of a 5-0 overall run that stretched into the second quarter. Muscari put an end to the Pioneer scoring drought with 5:39 remaining in the half. The Cardinals went on to score five more times over the final five minutes of the half to lead 11-2 entering the third. Fisher scored three straight to open the second half before Grace Stuhlman (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) notched the third Pioneer of the game with 5:46 to go in the third quarter. The Cardinals went on to score four more times in the game to hand Utica its first loss since the end of February.
 
Witnessing History: Grace Stuhlman (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) stands second in conference play with 40 goals and 10 assists, averaging 4.10 per game. She has a goal in 28 out of 30 games played dating back to the 2023 season and she is two goals away from reaching 100 career goals. Stuhlman has 158 career draw controls in three seasons, which ranks top five overall in program history and she is on pace to be the all-time leader by the end of next season. She ranks top 40 nationally, recording 73 draw controls.
 
Team Numbers: Utica is outsourcing its opponents 193 to 108 in 13 games. Utica has 198 draw controls, 39 more than the next team in league play (St. John Fisher) and a league-best .457 shooting percentage. The team ranks 30th nationally with an 8.31 goals-against average.
 
The Future is Here: Freshmen Bella Kolb (New Hartford, NY/New Hartford) and Maria Stuhlman (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) have gotten off to hot starts, combining for 33 goals and 21 assists. M. Stuhlman leads Utica with 32 ground balls and 10 caused turnovers and has a point in 12 out of 13 games.
 
Scouting Hartwick: The Hartwick College Hawks are 6-5 overall and 2-1 in Empire 8 play. The team has won two consecutive games against Russell Sage (19-8) and Keuka (19-0). Hartwick has 19 woman-up goals, averaging nearly two per game along with 144 goals scored and a.433 shooting percentage. Junior Kristen Vaccarelli is second in conference play with 44 goals, averaging four per game. She has a goal in 10 out of 11 games and 16 goals in four games. Vaccarelli has six games where she scored at least five goals on five shots on goal. She has 61 draw controls, 20 caused turnovers and 38 ground balls, which is all top-five in the Empire 8. Junior Katrina Marten leads the Hawks with 31 assists, 18 of them coming in the past four games. Freshman goalkeeper Brooke Lynett started all 11 games, sporting a 5-4 record. She has a .432 save percentage and a 12.14 goals-against average.
 
History Against Hartwick: Utica is 15-7 all-time against the Hawks to go along with a 15-game winning streak dating back to March 15, 2008. The Pioneers are 8-4 at home all-time versus Hartwick.
 
Up Next: The Pioneers host Russell Sage College on Wednesday, April 24 at 4 p.m for the annual Mike Parnell Game.