UTICA, NY - Pioneer Field Hockey is finally back at Gaetano Stadium this Saturday as they host a long-awaited matchup with last year's Empire 8 Regular Season Champion, the St. John Fisher Cardinals. Utica has absolutely had this game circled for some time, as Fisher was the squad who eliminated the Pioneers from last season's Empire 8 Tournament. The rivalry will be renewed beginning at 12:00 PM this Saturday, September 28th on ABM Field at the Gaet'.
 
Follow Along: You can follow along with this week's action by following the links below, or by following the "stream" and "live stats" links under the schedule tab on our field hockey page. 
 
Vs St. John Fisher:
Stream: https://www.empire8network.com/utica/?B=1145680
Stats: https://uticapioneers.com/sidearmstats/fhockey/summary
 
Last Time Out: The Pioneers have been on a marathon road trip since the beginning of September, voyaging in all 4 cardinal directions while matching up with various strong non-conference opponents in Skidmore, Muhlenberg, St. Lawrence, and SUNY Geneseo. Utica's last home game took place during the season-opening Utica University Tournament back in August, when the Pioneers lost a hard-fought contest against the now 21st ranked New Paltz Hawks on August 31st.
 
Their most recent contest pitted them against the 20th ranked SUNY Geneseo Knights in a matchup that kicked off Empire 8 play.
 
Mackenzie Mix notched Utica's goal while also scoring her first goal of 2024. Mia Benincasa (Gansevoort, NY/South Glens Falls) and Alyssa Pisano each had at least one shot on goal.
 
Hannah Young started in net for Utica, collecting 20 saves.
 
The Knights and Pioneers combined for five corners in the first quarter, three from Utica and two from Geneseo. Ava Harman gave the Knights an early 1-0 lead with just under four minutes to play in the quarter. At the 13:40 mark, Molly Bathrick scored for the Knights as they took a 2-0 lead. Midway through the second quarter, Katrina Clare scored for Geneseo as the Knights would head into halftime with a 3-0 advantage.
 
Young made six great saves in the third quarter, allowing no goals on six shots faced.  Arnold tallied the Pioneer's lone goal only three minutes into the fourth quarter, cutting the deficit to 3-1. Geneseo responded under three minutes later, giving the team a 4-1 lead, ultimately concluding the game.
 
Proteger Esta Casa: Freshman Mia Benincasa (Gansevoort, NY/South Glens Falls) found the cage twice in the Pioneers' close loss at St. Lawrence this past Wednesday. The rookie is making a huge impact early on for the Pioneers, already having 3 goals scored in only 6 career matches for the orange and blue. Benincasa has also been insanely efficient, with all 7 of her shots this season being on goal. She's scored on 3 of those 7 shot attempts, scoring a goal just under 50% of the time she takes a shot. Benincasa has made the most of her opportunities this season and will look to provide even more promising play as she ventures into her first Empire 8 campaign.
 
The Rivalry: The Pioneers and Cardinals are quite familiar with each other. Utica and Fisher have met in 2 of the last 3 conference tournaments, with the Rochester-based squad taking both of those meetings. 2021's Empire 8 Playoff matchup took place in the Empire 8 Championship, while this past season's meeting was a Semifinal tilt. It's been a while since the Pioneers have come out on top in the rivalry. Despite the recent string of bad luck against Fisher, the Pioneers have come inches away from beating the E8 power on multiple recent occasions, most notably this past season when the Pioneers fell by a slim 1-0 margin in the Semifinal of the conference tournament.
 
In that pivotal meeting, Fisher jumped out to an early 1-0 lead after a goal in the 13th minute. Both teams had numerous opportunities throughout the final 40 minutes, but neither could score in a matchup that ended up being decided by that single goal back at the start of the proceedings.
 
Finding Out About Fisher: The Cardinals, after defeating the Pioneers in the Semifinal round, were knocked out of the Empire 8 Tournament in the Championship round, falling by a 2-1 tally to the 2023 E8 Champion Hartwick Hawks. Fisher was 11-8 in 2023, finishing the Empire 8 regular season with a spotless 7-0 record. The Cardinals were the #1 overall seed in the conference tournament, but ultimately fell in the final round to the #2 seeded Hawks. 
 
Fisher is off to a 3-6 start in 2024, falling to a couple tough opponents to start off the season in William Smith and 18th ranked Ithaca. The Cardinals have picked up wins against a couple SUNYAC squads in Oswego and Oneonta, while also defeating Russell Sage by a score of 8-3 in their recent Empire 8 opener. Oneonta is the only common opponent between the Pioneers and Cardinals, with Fisher defeating the Red Dragons 4-2 on September 14th in Pittsford.
 
St. John Fisher is led on offense by… Molly Fisher, with the senior having 7 goals and an assist in the 2024 season. Audrey Grieb and Emma Cooper are also major threats in front of the cage for the Cardinals, with Grieb having 4 goals and 2 assists and Cooper having balanced numbers with 3 goals and 3 assists. Last year's Empire 8 Semifinal difference maker is also back for Fisher, with the lone goalscorer in the matchup, Mary Kate McPhee, returning to the Cardinal lineup. St. John Fisher has seen two players mind the cage in the early-going. Senja Matson has seen the most minutes in goal for the Cardinals, logging 400 minutes in the cage, stopping 40 shots at a 63.5% rate. Morgan Parrinello has also appeared in goal during 4 matches for Fisher. Parrinello has saved 18 shots at a 75% rate.
 
On The Horizon: The game with Fisher will represent the first of three-straight matchups that the Pioneers will host at Gaetano. Utica will return next week on Wednesday and Saturday, with the midweek match featuring Keystone College and the weekend bout continuing Empire 8 play with Keuka College.
 
Make sure to tune in this week as the season moves on!