UTICA, NY - The Utica University women's soccer team continues its road trip this week, taking on Hamilton College on Wednesday, September 18 at 4:30pm, before opening Empire 8 Conference play at Houghton University on Saturday, September 21 at 3:30pm.
Follow Along:
Hamilton Live Video:
https://www.nsnsports.net/colleges/hamilton/
Hamilton Live Stats:
https://athletics.hamilton.edu/sidearmstats/wsoc/summary
Houghton Live Video:
https://empire8network.com/houghton/
Houghton Live Stats:
https://athletics.houghton.edu/sidearmstats/wsoc/summary
Last Time Out: Finding the back of the net for the Pioneers was
Amber Piersma (Cassville, NY/Mount Markham), who netted her fourth goal of the season, and
Natalia Bell (Cortland, NY/Groton) who tallied her first collegiate goal. Assisting on the Piersma goal was
Noella Burlette (Manchester, CT/Manchester), and on the Bell goal was
Ayla Flockton (Plymouth, MA/Plymouth North). Utica outshot Potsdam 19-5 with 13 of the Pioneer attempts falling on goal. Rory Richar,
Cora Kraft (Poughquag, NY/Arlington),
Samantha Kogut (North Adams, MA/Drury), Bell,
Rylee Lamphere (Little Falls, NY/Dolgeville) ,
Bella Noble (Staten Island, NY/Tottenville), Piersma, and
Megan Fedish (Hopewell Junction, NY/John Jay) each recorded at least one shot on goal in the winning effort. Utica also outdid Potsdam in corners with six, compared to the lone Bears corner. In goal for the Pioneers, goalkeeper
Hannah Pcola (Cassville, NY/Mount Markham) recorded her first shutout in a Pioneer uniform making two saves in the contest.
Spreading the Wealth: Seven different Pioneers have found the back of the net so far this season.
Amber Piersma (Cassville, NY/Mount Markham) leads the team with four goals,
Rylee Lamphere (Little Falls, NY/Dolgeville) has netted two, and
Bella Noble (Staten Island, NY/Tottenville),
Rory Richard (Barneveld, NY/Holland Patent),
Natalia Bell (Cortland, NY/Groton),
Samantha Kogut (North Adams, MA/Drury), and
Mackenzie Turner (Hamilton, NJ/The Hun School of Princeton) have each tallied a goal for Utica. Piersma has found herself on the Empire 8 leaderboard in the goal column with her four goals being enough for sixth in the conference.
Shot Takers: Twelve different Pioneers have recorded at least one shot on goal this season. As a team, the Pioneers find themselves in fourth on the conference leaderboard in both total shots and shots on goal. The Pioneers have averaged 17.2 shots per game, and are averaging 9.20 shots on goal per game.
Amber Piersma (Cassville, NY/Mount Markham) currently is the top shot-taker for Utica, tallying 23 shots with 14 of those falling on goal, a mark that is good enough to tie for the top spot on the conference leaderboard in shots, and she currently owns the top spot in the conference in shots on goal. Piersma is on pace to break every single-season shot record for the Pioneers this season. Through five games, Piersma is averaging 4.6 shots per game and 2.8 shots on goal per game, if the momentum continues in her favor, Piersma will own the single season shot per game average record and the single season shots on goal per game average record.
Shut them Out: Goalkeeper
Hannah Pcola (Cassville, NY/Mount Markham) recorded her first shutout in a Pioneer uniform last time out. In her first start this season, Pcola tallied two saves on five shot attempts. In her Pioneer debut against Oswego, she recorded three saves on seven shot attempts.
Scouting Hamilton: Hamilton College currently sits at 1-2-1 so far on the season. In the highly competitive NESCAC conference, the Continentals find themselves at 0-2-1. Leading the Continentals offense is Haley Cramer. Cramer has been able to find the back of the net for Hamilton twice so far this season. She has registered six shots with five of them falling on goal. Maddie Ledbury and Isabel Harvey have also tallied a goal for the Continentals this season. Between the pipes for Hamilton has been goalkeeper Nieve Tonna, who has recorded 27 saves this season. She is currently ranked fifth on the NESCAC leaderboard in goals against average, posting a .857 after only allowing three goals so far this season. The Pioneers and the Continentals have a storied history, with the origin of this matchup dating back to 1994. Utica's record in the matchup currently sits at 3-24-1. When Utica visits Hamilton, the Pioneers are 2-11. Last season's matchup saw the Continentals shut out the Pioneers by a score of 3-0.
Looking at Houghton: Houghton University is currently sitting at 2-2-1 overall so far this season. Leading the Highlanders offense is Elena Esh. Esh currently leads the Empire 8 Conference in the goal column with five goals netted so far this season. Lending a helping hand has been Sophia Templeton who currently sits in the second spot on the conference leaderboard in assists. Between the pipes for Houghton has been goalkeeper Preslee Miller. Miller has played all four games so far this season with 31 saves while only allowing 9 goals. The Pioneers and the Highlanders have been playing each other since 2012. The Highlanders in the past have defeated the Pioneers until the 2021 season when the Pioneers have taken over, with Utica taking the last matchup by a score of 3-0.
Up Next: Utica continues its road trip to take on the St. John Fisher University Cardinals. Game time in Rochester, NY on Wednesday, September 25 is set for 7pm.
