UTICA, NY - Pioneer field hockey will be back on the field this weekend, traveling to Allentown, Pennsylvania for a matchup vs Muhlenberg College on Saturday at 1:00 PM in their first game action since September 3rd at Skidmore.
 
Follow Along: You can follow along with this weekend's showdown by following the links below, or by following the "stream" and "live stats" links under the schedule tab on our field hockey page. 

Muhlenberg stream link: https://www.centennialconference.tv/muhlenbergcollege/?B=1152724
 
Muhlenberg live stats link: https://muhlenbergsports.com/sidearmstats/fhockey/summary

 
The Season So Far: The Pioneers have been up against the gauntlet in their early-season slate, facing off against three teams that have a combined 2024 record of 8-2. Those same three foes in Oneonta, New Paltz, and Skidmore have outscored opponents this season by a margin of 44-18. Despite a tough run against outstanding opposition, the Pioneers have shown flashes and are only a couple steps away from finding a great strategy based upon a mix of youth and veteran talent. Utica, in fact, has had the best offensive outing so far this season against a newly-ranked New Paltz squad, with their 3 scores against the Hawks representing the most a team has scored against New Paltz in 2024. Not even a now-17th ranked Ithaca team could break down the Hawks for that many scores, with the previously 23rd ranked bombers succumbing to New Paltz 3-2 in overtime this past weekend. That victory over Ithaca  led to the Hawks entering the top 25 polls themselves with a week 1 ranking of 23. All this is to say; the Pioneers have been honing their tactics against the best competition around, and will look to this road trip as an opportunity to finally convert their powerful play into successful results.
 
Rest and Refresh: The Pioneers are in the midst of a 10-day break that has allowed them to decompress and analyze their first group of contests. Look for Utica to exit the gates fast on Saturday and use their excess energy to launch an early attack on the Mules defense. This non-conference tilt will also be a good opportunity for the Pioneers to test out any new tactics or hone any existing play-styles with Muhlenberg representing the second-to-last non-Empire 8 opponent that Utica will face before kicking off Empire 8 play. A rested and driven Pioneer squad will not be experiencing any fatigue that comes with their normal amount of weekly games due to the aforementioned 10-day break.
 
Pisano Pressure: Alyssa Pisano (Hopewell Junction, NY/Arlington) has been the foremost offensive threat for Utica in the 2024 campaign. The graduate student has had a grandiose effect on the Pioneer offense when she's firing on all cylinders. In her three games so far, Pisano has recorded 1 goal and 2 assists via 7 shots (4 on goal). Pisano's positioning within Utica's offensive plays has been effective and infectious, as her hard-fought points have demonstrated how to take advantage of opposing defenses within the Pioneers' offensive sets. Her vision has been spectacular this season, with her routinely finding extra through-passes and exploiting alleys created by the defense in order to spark offensive success for Utica. She's also adapted easily to the offensive play-styles of a couple Pioneer newcomers, as she's already connected for a pair of scores with freshman Lauren Durfey (Gansevoort, NY/South Glens Falls) and Mia Benincasa (Gansevoort, NY/South Glens Falls). Pisano found Durfey after threading the needle through 3 New Paltz defenders, hitting the rookie right in her shooting zone after Durfey had found a soft spot right next to the Hawks' goal. Although she didn't directly contribute to Benincasa's score, it mirrored one of her own scores from earlier in the weekend, showing that the Pioneers potentially have a great knack for learning from each other. Look for Pisano and the other Pioneer weapons to keep up their focus on distribution in the coming weeks.
 
Mixing it Up: Teams have done a solid job limiting the tools of Pioneer veteran Mackenzie Mix (Camden, NY/Camden) so far this season. Despite this, Mix's incoming impact is inevitable, as the speedy senior can only be kept contained for so long. Mix tallied 10 points for the Pioneers in 2023, and had an outstanding shots on goal percentage of 81%. When she decides to act upon an offensive opportunity, Mix rarely misses. Look for the senior to start picking up speed in the coming weeks.
 
Maddening Defense: Back-to-back NCAA defensive saves title holder Madison Ranalli (Cicero, NY/Cicero-North Syracuse) is back at it again, with the graduate student already on her way to eclipsing her NCAA-leading 17 defensive saves from 2023. Ranalli has already wiped out 2 sure-scores, with her 2 defensive saves setting the tone for the Pioneer defense. Ranalli has 13 more regular season matchups to replicate her fantastic feat from this past season, with hopefully a bunch more postseason appearances adding to that total. Ranalli has done well leading a relatively young Utica defensive unit, with there still being plenty of time for the Pioneer backs to reach their potential.
 
Mentioning Muhlenberg: The Mules are off to a 1-2 start, with losses at Scranton (1-2 OT)  and Alvernia (3-5) followed by a victory over Moravian (4-1) in their home-opener this past Saturday. Before the Centennial challenger welcomes the Pioneers on Saturday, they'll head to FDU-Florham for a Wednesday tilt with the Devils. Muhlenberg has been paced by junior forward Abba Diglio so far this season, with the New Jersey native sitting on 2 goals and 3 assists in her three appearances. Diglio sports a shots on goal percentage of 88%, meaning that more often than not, the junior will convert a majority of her open opportunities. The Mules' other top producers include junior Erin DiSandro (2 goals, 1 assist) and freshman Danielle Kapsak (2 goals, 1 assist). Muhlenberg is both scoring and allowing 2.67 goals per game in 2024, seemingly putting pressure on their opponents while also being susceptible to counter-attacks. The Mules have launched 15 shots per game, with around 9 of those being shots on goal, good for a 57.8 shots on goal percentage. 7 of the 8 Muhlenberg goals have been assisted, meaning they share the Pioneers' distributing tendencies on offense. Look for the Pioneer defense to gain great position on Saturday, hopefully limiting the extra attackers that Muhlenberg may try to plant near the Utica goal.
 
On The Horizon: After their weekend voyage to Allentown, the Pioneers will gear up for their final non-conference contest before Empire 8 play. Utica will travel to St. Lawrence next week and play a midweek match against the 4th team from the 2024 Utica University Tournament. The Saints and the Pioneers will face off on Wednesday evening at 5 PM, with Utica then traveling to 20th ranked Geneseo in their Empire 8 opener next Saturday.
 
Make sure to tune in on Saturday and catch all the action!