UTICA, NY - The Utica University women's lacrosse team gears up for its final week of regular season play. The Pioneers will host Russell Sage College at 4 p.m. on Wednesday for the annual Mike Parnell Game. Utica will conclude its regular season at 1 p.m. on the road against Alfred University.
 
Follow Along: Those unable to attend on Wednesday can keep up with live video and/or stats through https://portal.stretchinternet.com/utica/. Alfred will also provide live video and stats through https://portal.stretchinternet.com/alfred/.
 
Last Time Out: The team mounted a thrilling comeback to defeat Hartwick College 15-13 on Wednesday, April 17. Grace Stuhlman (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) recorded her 100th career goal and became just the 12th player in program history to do so. It was a balanced attack for the Pioneers with seven players churning in a multi-point outing. G. Stuhlman led the way with four goals and two assists while Maria Stuhlman (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) was facilitating all game with four assists and one goal. Samantha DeCondo (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) tallied three goals while Alyssa Pisano (Hopewell Junction, NY/Arlington) and Alyssa Drell (Mastic, NY/William Floyd) each added a pair. Jordan Kowalski (Chicopee, MA/Plattsburgh State (NCAA DIII)) and Kerry Carr (New Hartford, NY/Manhattanville College) each had one goal and one assist with Abigail Gerling (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) adding one goal. Makayla Purdy (Shirley, NY/William Floyd) got the win in goal making nine saves while allowing 13 goals. The Pioneers wasted no time getting its offense rolling with Decondo and Drell each scoring early to give the team a commanding 2-0 lead at the 13:49 mark of the first quarter. Yet, Hartwick made key adjustments to open an eight-goal run and hold an 8-2 advantage with 14:24 remaining in the second quarter. Yet, Utica was resilient, and its offense came through scoring four straight goals to cut the lead to 8-6 with 4:19 left in the first half. Both Stuhlman's DeCondo and Pisano each scored a goal during the spurt and the team trailed by two at the half. The Hawks scored first in the second half, yet Utica gained momentum with a trio of goals to knot the score at 9-9 with 7:29 remaining in the third quarter. But Hartwick quickly responded, scoring three straight goals to claim a 12-9 edge going into the final quarter of play. DeCondo and G. Stuhlman each scored quickly to begin the fourth and Utica trailed just 12-11 with 12:22 to play. The Hawks tacked on another goal, yet Utica caught fire scoring four straight goals to close the game out with a commanding 15-13 comeback win.
 
Postseason Scenario: Utica has officially clinched a postseason berth for a sixth consecutive season. The Pioneers can finish as high as No. 2 and as low as No. 4. The Pioneers can clinch the No. 2 seed for the second time in program history with a win over Russell Sage on Wednesday. Even if Utica loses out and Russell Sage wins out to go 4-2, Utica holds a head-to-head tiebreaker on both Nazareth and Hartwick (who play each other on Saturday). If the Pioneers secure the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament the team will host a postseason game for the second time in program history. The Empire 8 Conference Tournament will begin with the semifinals on Wednesday, May 1 with each game being hosted by the higher seed. The Empire 8 Championship will be played on Saturday, May 4 at the highest seed.
 
Where We Stand: Entering the final week of the regular season, the team leads the conference with 208 goals, 220 draw controls and a 6.2 goal margin. Utica's potent offense is averaging a league-high 14.86 goals per game. The attack trio of Alyssa Drell (Mastic, NY/William Floyd), DeCondo and G. Stuhlman have played great complimentary lacrosse down the stretch, combining for 101 of the team's 208 goals. Team defense has proven to be a factor as the teams allowed 8.64 goals per game, second best behind Fisher's 7.79 and top 50 nationally. M. Stuhlman's presence in the middle of the field has proved to be a problem for opposing teams as her 35 ground balls are first on Utica and sixth in E8 action. She's also posted at least two-points in 5
 
History on the Horizon: With two wins this week the Pioneers will tie a program record for wins in a season (13) that was set in the 2019 season. A win in the conference semifinals next week would give the program its 14th win of the season and set a new program best.
 
Speaking of History: Grace Stuhlman (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) is approaching a pair of single-season milestones that she also accomplished in the 2023 season. Currently at 56 points, Stuhlman is four away from 60 on the season - a mark that has been reached nine other times in program history including by her last year when she reached 71. Her 71 points last year served as the second most in a single season in program history. With 14 more this year, Stuhlman will become the first-ever player in program history to have two separate 70-point seasons. With that, the junior is six goals away from reaching 50 on the season which would be the sixth such occasion in program history. If she does so, Stuhlman will be the second player in program history to have two separate 50-goal seasons as she'd join the program's all-time leader in points and goals, Tammy Kohanski
 
Scouting Sage: The Russell Sage Gators are 6-6 overall and 2-2 in league play. They won back-to-back conference games against Alfred (11-9) on April 13 and Keuka (15-5) on April 19. Senior midfielder Grace Hines leads the E8 with 53 goals, averaging five per game. In the team's last three games, she posted 15 goals and 16 points. Hines has at least three goals in 10 out of 12 matchups. Senior midfielder Alexandra Queeney leads the Gators with 15 assists and 56 draw controls. Senior midi Ashley Hearn has been a premier defender, picking up 27 caused turnovers, collecting at least one in nine out of 10 games. Sophomore goalie Jaia Caron sports a 6-6 record and a 13.67 goals-against average. Utica is 7-0 all-time against Sage, dating back to March 10, 2012.
 
Scouting Alfred: The Saxons are 5-9 overall and 1-4 in Empire 8 play. The team is on a four-game losing streak, dating back to April 6 against Keuka (12-2). Junior attacker Amelia Booth leads Alfred in every offensive statistical category. She has 45 goals, nine assists, 11 free-position goals, 86 draw controls and 62 shots on goal. Morgan Wise and Kylee Bedette are second on Alfred with 22 goals and seven assists each. The team leads the conference with 230 ground balls (76 of them are credited to goalkeeper, Alyssa Piechota) and 181 ground balls. Piechota has started all 14 games, posting a 5-9 record and a conference-leading .506 save percentage. Utica is 17-3 all-time against the Saxons, dating back to April 2, 2005. Utica has scored at least 20 goals in the last five matchups.
 
Up Next: The Pioneers will look towards the Empire 8 Semifinals on Wednesday, May 1. With one win this week Utica would host the third-seeded team in the semifinals from Charles A. Gaetano Stadium.