UTICA, NY - The Utica University women's lacrosse team gets set for its Empire 8 Tournament Semifinal contest against the Nazareth University Golden Flyers on Wednesday, May 1 at 4 p.m. This is the team's first time hosting an Empire 8 playoff semifinal.
 
Follow Along: Live video and stat link can be found here.
 
Last Time Out: The team won their final regular season game 19-6 against Alfred University last Saturday afternoon. Grace Stuhlman (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) led Utica with nine points on six goals and three assists. She had 12 draw controls and six shots on goal to accompany her nine points. Alyssa Pisano (Hopewell Junction, NY/Arlington) had a big day, scoring three and dishing out two assists. Samantha DeCondo (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) and Jordan Kowalski (Chicopee, MA/Plattsburgh State (NCAA DIII)) each had one goal and three assists. Kerry Carr (New Hartford, NY/Manhattanville College) (1g, 1a), Maria Stuhlman (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) (2g, 0a), Alexis Alteri (Clinton, NY/Clinton) (2g, 0a), Bella Kolb (New Hartford, NY/New Hartford) (2g, 0a), Alyssa Drell (Mastic, NY/William Floyd) (0g, 1a), Belicia Biette (Troy, NY/Columbia) (0g, 1a) and Abigail Gerling (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) (1g, 0a) rounded out the scorecard. Makayla Purdy (Shirley, NY/William Floyd) played the first three quarters, collecting four saves and her 12th win. Angelina Borowiec (Clinton, NY/Clinton) and Karen Troche (Amsterdam, NY/Amsterdam) each played in the fourth quarter. Both teams combined for six goals in the first quarter, four from Utica and two from Alfred. Pisano scored a hat-trick in the first quarter, all on woman-up opportunities. The Pioneers would head into the second quarter up 4-2. Utica's potent offense went off in the second quarter, scoring nine goals on 16 shots. M. Stuhlman scored the quarter's first goal only 35 seconds in and Alfred struck back two minutes later, making it a 5-3 Pioneer lead. It was all Utica for the remaining 10 minutes, scoring eight unanswered between the 10:50 and 2:17 mark. Utica would enter halftime with a 13-3 advantage. The Pioneers would score six goals in the second half, compared to Alfred's three. The Pioneers defeated the Saxons 19-6 at Yunevich Stadium.
 
Ticket Information: Per Empire 8 playoff ticket policy:
 

• Adults - $6.00
• Students - $4.00
• Children under 12 are free.

 
Homefield Success: The Pioneers are 6-1 at Gaetano Stadium, with their only loss coming in their first game of the season against SUNY New Paltz on February 24.
 
Postseason Schedule: The semifinal matchups for the Empire 8 Tournament include St. John Fisher hosting Hartwick College on Wednesday at 7 p.m. and Utica hosting Nazareth on Wednesday at 4 p.m. The winners will meet for the Empire 8 Championship on Saturday, May 4 with the highest remaining seed to host the game.
 
Consistent Excellence: Utica is on a three-game winning streak entering Wednesday's matchup, scoring at least 15 goals across the three-game span. Utica has stayed consistent and disciplined on both sides of the ball, as the team has the second-least amount of turnovers in the E8. The attack trio of Grace Stuhlman (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro), Alyssa Drell (Mastic, NY/William Floyd) and Samantha DeCondo (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) have combined for 38 points in the last three games against Hartwick, Russell Sage and Alfred. Maria Stuhlman (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) continues to be a do-it-all player for Utica in her first season, posting a steady 23 goals, 21 assists and a team-leading 40 ground balls and 12 caused turnovers. Her ability to run through opposing players while clearing the ball has given the offense a handful of more possessions. Mara Cunningham (Queensbury, NY/Queensbury) has 12 caused turnovers in the past seven games as she's played great fundamental defense while clearing the ball at a high rate.
 
Record Breakin': Grace Stuhlman's (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) 104 draw controls ranks 38th nationally, averaging 6.50 per game. She has 148 career points, 19 short of cracking the program's top-five and 115 away from the top mark.
 
Hard To Score: Utica's defense ranks 35th nationally with an 8.19 goals-against average. The team has gotten off to hot starts in the past two games outscoring their opponents 35 to 10 and scoring 17 combined in the first quarter of both games.
 
In The Zone: Makayla Purdy (Shirley, NY/William Floyd) has an 8.45 goals against average, playing lights-out in the past three matchups against Hartwick, Russell Sage and Alfred. Her goals-against average is 23rd nationally and second in conference play.
 
Playoff History: The Pioneers have made the playoffs in six straight seasons, dating back to 2018. This will be the program's seventh trip to the league tournament. Utica secured the second seed in the playoffs for the second time in program history and with that, the team will host its second-ever tournament game with the other one coming in 2021. This will also mark the first home semifinal game the Pioneers will host as the team's 2021 contest was an Empire 8 Quarterfinal matchup against Keuka. Utica won that game handily, 20-4, to advance to the semifinals.
 
Scouting Nazareth: The Golden Flyers enter Wednesday's matchup at 7-9 overall and 4-2 in league play. Nazareth's last regular season game against Hartwick ended in an 11-10 overtime thriller victory for the Golden Flyers. Maggie Vay scored the game-winner with 3:10 left in overtime, guiding the team to an E8 playoff berth. Graduate student Kate Metzler is Nazareth's leading scorer with 57 points on 42 goals, 15 assists and 65 shots on goal. She has at least two points in every game this season, except in the team's loss to William Smith on February 24. In the last meeting against Utica, she scored five goals on six shots on goal. Metzler is fifth in league play with 42 goals, averaging 2.63 per game. Junior Julia Dietz leads Nazareth with 21 assists with her most coming against Brockport (four). Senior Maggie Gannon leads the team with 23 caused-turnover, recording 12 in the past five games. Sophomore Allie Klestinec has started all 14 games, sporting a 6-9 record, 12.42 goals against average and a .503 save percentage.
 
Last Time Against Naz: Utica picked up its first win in program history against Nazareth on April 6, winning 13-10. DeCondo led Utica with five points on four goals and one assist on seven shots on goal. All four goals came in the second half in clutch moments for the Pioneers. Purdy was a brick wall in the net, recording 10 saves, five in each half. For Nazareth, Metzler led the Golden Flyers with five goals, six shots on goal and two caused turnovers. Gannon had five draw controls, followed by Misiurewicz's three. Klestinec made 14 saves, seven in each half.
 
Up Next: With a win, the Pioneers will advance to Saturday's Empire 8 Championship game for the first time in program history. In the event of a victory, Utica will either travel to top-seeded Fisher for the game or host Hartwick College if the Hawks top the Cardinals in the other semifinal bout.