UTICA, NY - Utica University's men's soccer team will play in two games over the coming week, a home match against Hamilton, followed by a road match with SUNY Brockport. The match against Hamilton, scheduled for Wednesday the 22nd at 7:00 pm, will be the Pioneers' first non-conference game since the team's win at SUNY Morrisville on September 13th. The contest with Brockport will take place at A. Huntley Parker Jr. Field at 12:00 pm on Saturday, the 25th.

Follow Along: The video stream of Wednesday's game can be found HERE, with live stats found HERE. For Saturday's game, the video can be found HERE, with live stats HERE.

Week in Review: The Pioneers continued a short unbeaten streak with their second consecutive week of a win, followed by a tie in their second game. On Wednesday, the 15th, the squad traveled to face Hartwick, winning by a score of 1-0. Byamungu Mugushu (Syracuse, NY/Bishop Grimes) scored the lone goal and Zachary Accetta (Rocky Point, NY/Rocky Point) saved all eight shots he faced. Just a few days later, on Saturday the 18th, Utica hosted Nazareth in a defensive battle. Carter Cookinham (Poland, NY/Poland) scored a goal with just 2:43 left on the clock to even the score 1-1. Nazareth was held to only one shot on goal in the game, their goal on a perfectly placed ball in the top-right corner. 

Late Record Watches: As the regular season winds down, several players are in contention for high placements in many record book categories. Unsurprisingly, Mugushu's fantastic season covers much of the record watch. Each of Utica's three goalies to appear this season are on pace to enter the book, as well as several field players for participation-based stats.

Mugushu will conclude his Utica career covering all of Utica's record book. The forward from Syracuse, NY ranks top 10 in every single non-goalkeeper category that the program tracks. Over the course of this season, he has already set the program records for both total career points and game-winning goals. He additionally sits within reach of both the career goals and shots on goal records, totaling just one less goal and six less shots on goal from tying the records. Mugushu is additionally on pace to turn in six top-three single-season records. Of those six, he is on pace to set or tie the single-season record in three of them: points per game (2.33), goals per game (1.00), and game-winning goals (4). 

Goalkeepers Accetta, Asim Gacic (Utica, NY/Mohawk Valley Community College (NJCAA)), and Cade Tavares (Endicott, NY/Union-Endicott) will each make new appearances in both record books, updating categories such as goals allowed average, wins, and shutouts. Upperclassmen Brandon Pender (Brooklyn, NY/Xaverian), Noah Scranton (Utica, NY/Whitesboro), and Noah Nassberg (Naples, FL/Gulf Coast) will each climb the career record books, all related to participation-based statistics such as games played, games started, and minutes played. Scranton's minutes played total is perhaps the most intriguing as he currently sits in 3rd place, and will almost certainly secure 2nd place after the Hamilton game. Prior to Utica's 10/22 game, Scranton sits 442 minutes behind the record, meaning that if he played every single minute of each remaining game, he could break the program record late in a potential E8 Tournament Semi-Final matchup.

Homing in on Hamilton: The Continentals have been a team of two tales, a struggling 1-5-3 record in the NESCAC, with a perfect 4-0 record out of conference. The team has been held winless in their last four games, managing a 0-3-1 record with just one goal scored against their NESCAC opponents. Their last win came out-of-conference against Ithaca College on September 30th, who was ranked #19 nationally at the time. Their largest win of the season came in their season opener, when they defeated Oswego State by a score of 40 on September 2nd.

Hamilton has had quite balanced scoring, with the exception of one player. Junior Patrick Ferrare leads the team with five goals and two assists for 12 total points. Zach Tracy and Griffin Weidner rank behind Ferrare with point totals of six and five. The team has 12 other players who have tallied between one and four points. Peter Montesano Scheibe has played the majority of the goalie time for the Continentals, sitting just a touch below 800 minutes. In that time, he has played to a 0.79 GAA, .774 save percentage, and a 2-4-3 record. Across his nine appearances, he has contributed to four shutouts, three of them solo.

Breaking Down Brockport: The Golden Eagles have turned in a strong 2025 season, sitting second in the conference standings prior to the 10/22 slate of games. They have earned a 7-4-3 overall record, with a 6-1-2 record inside the E8. The squad enters the matchup with Utica unbeaten in over a month, as they have won or tied each of their last eight games after their 1-4 defeat by Hobart on September 16th. Additionally, they enter the game with a week of rest, as their most recent game before the Pioneers came in a 0-0 tie with Elmira on October 18th. The team's biggest win came in a 4-0 home match with Keuka on September 20th.

Ryan Mathis leads the offense for Brockport as his five goals and 11 points are both team leads. Brady Reinagel and Khadim Amar sit close behind, with point totals of eight and seven. Alex Rivara leads the Golden Eagles with four assists. Four separate keepers have seen the field for Brockport, with AJ Nelson totaling the most time. Playing exactly 720 minutes, Nelson has earned a 0.38 GAA, .850 save percentage, and 6-0-2 record. Across his eight games played, Brockport has shut out its opponent in five of them.

Up Next: After this week concludes, the Pioneers will have just one remaining home game. The Keuka College Wolves will come to town on October 29th in a 7:00 pm matchup. While Utica has not yet clinched an E8 Tournament berth, they are currently the highest team in the standings without an official clinch. If they can officially lock in a postseason appearance over the final three games, E8 Tournament play will begin with the first round of games on Saturday, November 1st.