UTICA, NY - This week, the 25th regular season of Utica field hockey will wrap up, with the team heading to Albany tomorrow night for a matchup with the Russell Sage Gators. As the conference season comes to a close, a youthful Pioneer squad will look to continue its growth and competitiveness, something that has been very apparent in some tight matchups against top-tier teams such as Nazareth, St. John Fisher, and Hartwick. A special group of seniors will also head into battle one final time, hoping to finish out their storied careers in explosive fashion against the Gators. Get caught up on Utica field hockey heading into tomorrow's matchup! 

Tomorrow's game will take place at the University of Albany.
 
You can stream Wednesday's matchup by heading to the link below:
 
At Russell Sage Stream (Wednesday): https://empire8network.com/russellsage/
 
You can follow live stats for Wednesday's matchup by heading to this link, or by clicking the "Live Stats" link in our field hockey schedule page:
 
Vs Russell Sage Live Stats Link (Wednesday): https://www.sagegators.com/sports/fh/2025-26/boxscores/20251029_dtb6.xml
 
Recapping Last Week's Action: The Empire 8 Tournament race came right down to the wire during last week's pair of matchups. Needing two wins in their final three games, the Pioneers were set to face off with Hartwick on Wednesday, before heading to Brockport on Saturday.
 
In their final regular-season home matchup, the Pioneers played host to a Hawks team with just one Empire 8 defeat. In the midweek meeting, the orange and blue answered the call to action early on, matching Hartwick's intensity during the first 30 minutes of play. After a first-quarter penalty stroke put the Hawks ahead 1-0, Pioneer forward Jocelyn Spiezio (Greenwich, NY/Greenwich) responded early on in the second frame, snatching a ball in Utica's defensive half and driving the ball right through the entire opposing defense before slotting away an equalizer in a highlight-reel play. As the halftime whistle came, the two teams were locked in a 1-1 tie. However, it was a second-half surge that eventually powered the Hawks to a Wednesday win at Gaetano Stadium, defeating the Pioneers by a 4-1 tally.
 
After the defeat to Hartwick, the Pioneers entered Saturday's road test against Brockport, facing a pseudo-playoff matchup. Needing a win in their final two games of the year, the Pioneers met the Golden Eagles in a matchup for their Empire 8 Tournament lives on a rainy Saturday afternoon. In the contest, the Pioneers outshot and, quite frankly, outplayed the hosting Golden Eagles. Although outshooting their opposition by a 12-8 margin and outearning them in the corner category by a 5-4 tally, the Pioneers were defeated by a 2-1 final, knocking them out of tournament contention. After an early Brockport goal, Deanna Jackson (Weedsport, NY/Weedsport) took advantage of a loose ball, slamming it home to send the game to a tie heading into the half. However, a scrappy goal during a scuffle in front of the Pioneers' cage gave Brockport the lead and, eventually, the victory.
 
Even with two losses during the past week, the Pioneers played two extremely competitive and exciting matchups. Looking for some exciting highlights from this season? Check out the links below to see all of the team's best plays from 2025!
 
At Morrisville Highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?si=Z68HWE44QuVM2cBz&v=mQoUYJK_uxo&feature=youtu.be
 
Vs Houghton Highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YS6BogAU56E
 
At Keuka Highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJCDAdoOUhw
 
Vs Nazareth Highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loAsCftVFMI
 
Vs Alfred University Highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpyzWO9Pfik
 
At Elmira College Highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azOsnKMzM2A
 
Faith for the Future: For the orange and blue, last week's performances were two more in a long string of very inspiring outings against the top teams in the Empire 8. Against the conference's top six sides, the Pioneers played to a halftime tie with three of said squads, being equal with current #2 seed Hartwick (1-1), #4 seed Houghton (2-2), and #6 seed Brockport (1-1) come the halftime buzzer of each game. In additional matchups against the current #3 seed Nazareth and the current #5 seed St. John Fisher, the Pioneers only trailed by a single goal at halftime, and even managed to equalize in the second half against the Cardinals. In their six matchups with the top six teams, the Pioneers were equal at somepoint in the second half in four of those matchups, also only losing by a single goal in a fifth game against Nazareth. These results offer considerable hope for the program's future, as its young core has demonstrated experience battling back against high-level competition. As the Pioneers gain more experience and learn how to close out matchups, all of those tight games could be flipped in the opposite direction, paving a path for the Pioneers to return to the upper ranks of the Empire 8. With such a wealth of young talent, the team's future looks extremely promising.
 
Scouting Russell Sage: The Pioneers will look to take another big step this week as they attempt to end the 2025 campaign on a high note on the road against the Gators. The victor of Wednesday's contest will achieve a seventh-place finish in the Empire 8, just on the cusp of postseason contention.
 
The Gators will enter Wednesday's matchup with a 4-12 record, also holding a 2-7 record in the Empire 8. However, despite a solid 4-3 start to the 2025 season, the Gators have lost their last nine games dating back to late September, meaning they will enter the regular season finale in poor form, but with a chance to regain traction heading into the offseason.
 
Russell Sage's wins have come against Ramapo (3-2), Keuka (2-0), Manhattanville (3-1), and Alfred University (9-0), while their close losses include defeats at Brockport (2-1), and at Elmira (2-1).
 
The green and black are paced by a pair of 20-point players in sophomore Skyler Van Wormer and Catherine Newkirk. Each player has an identical scoring stat line, with both players having scored nine goals and recorded two assists. Aside from the top duo, Russell Sage's other multi-goal getters are senior Mackenzie Dahl (three goals, one assist) and junior Cheyanne Zobel (two goals, five assists). Zobel's five assists are also a team-high, just one more than sophomore Kari Gage, who has four playmakers in the 2025 season.
 
The Gators' main goalkeeper is Olivia Brand, with the sophomore having a goals allowed average of 4.20 and a save percentage of .715%.
 
After the Regular Season Wraps Up: The 25th season of Utica field hockey will come to a close following Wednesday's matchup. Thank you for following along with the team through their 2025 campaign, and be sure to follow the Utica field hockey and Utica athletics social media outlets by following the links down below!
 
Utica field hockey instagram link: https://www.instagram.com/uticafieldhockey/?hl=en
 
Utica athletics media outlet links: Utica Athletics Linktree
 
Tune in for tomorrow's season finale!