UTICA, NY - Utica University's men's soccer team will continue its conference play with another two games in the coming week. On Wednesday, October 8th, the Pioneers play host to the Russell Sage Gators in a 6:30 pm matchup. Just a few days later, on Saturday, the 11th, the squad will travel to Alfred, NY for a 1:00 pm contest with the Alfred University Saxons.

Follow Along: Links to Wednesday's video stream can be found HERE, with live stats HERE. The video stream for Saturday's game can be found HERE, with live stats found HERE.

Week in Review: The Pioneers played two games last week, one home and one away, but both within Utica. They started their week with a trip across town to face the SUNY Poly Wildcats. After jumping out to a 2-0 lead in the first 15 minutes, Poly fought back and eventually evened the game in the second half. Byamungu Mugushu (Syracuse, NY/Bishop Grimes) again rose to the occasion, scoring a goal with just 5:16 left in the game, his second of the game and 9th game-winning goal of his career. This 9th game-winner by Mugushu set the program record.

After their late win against Poly, Utica had a challenge on their hands with the SUNY Geneseo Knights, who entered the game with a 4-0 record and 18-2 goal differential within the Empire 8. The Knights showed their danger early, scoring just 7:41 into the game. Geneseo extended their lead at the 75:50 mark before Utica broke the clean sheet with a goal with just 45 seconds left. Following the matchups, the Pioneers sit 5th in the Empire 8 standings with a 2-1-2 conference record.

Where the Numbers Rank: Mugushu has come back and played at the same high level seen in his previous time with the team. He holds the team lead in both goals (7) and points (18), and shares the team lead for assists (4). He has recorded these stats playing in just eight games. His 2.25 points per game pace leads the Empire 8 in the midseason and ranks him 24th across all of Division III. If he can keep at a similar pace, this season will enter the program record books as one of, if not the most, productive seasons in history. The current single-season school record is 1.89 points per game, set by Roberto Sgueglia in 2010. Even if Mugushu sinks below that mark, he will still hold a spot near the top of the list, as only two other seasons have ended with 1.54 points per game or more: Evan Dufalt with 1.69 in 2005 and Cody Baker-Green (Warwick, NY/Warwick Valley) with 1.63 in 2022.

Following Mugushu in total points is freshman Henry Schweitzer (Clinton, NY/Clinton). He has scored four goals and assisted on two others for 10 total points. Schweitzer is one of just six total players across the E8 to tally double-digit points, but is the only freshman to do so. He is flirting right on the edge of the top 15 of several single-season statistics. To crack into the points per game record list, he needs 1.06 points per game, just 0.06 higher than his current pace. His 0.40 goals per game pace is currently just enough to earn a spot in that stat's record list, as a minimum of 0.40 will be required to appear in the top 15.

Revealing Russell Sage: The Gators hold one of the strongest overall records (6-3-2) in the Empire 8, but find themselves 8th in the standings with their 1-2-2 record within conference play. The team has struggled to find the back of the net in recent contests, scoring two goals in their last 5 games. They hold a 1-2-2 record across this span, with the win coming against the University of Hartford, a non-conference opponent. In the six games prior to that span, the Gators held a 17-4 goal differential, turning in a 5-1 record, including their 2-1 win against SUNY Brockport, their E8 win. Their biggest win of the season came on September 10th in a 10-0 rout of Paul Smith's College.

Russell Sage has just four players with more than two total points, two of them tied with five, and the other two tied with nine. Dimitri Gogas' nine points come from a team-leading four goals and one assist. John Lewis Whalen is the other nine-point scorer, coming from two goals and five assists. Joel Tshiamala and Mateusz Junior Cwalina both have five points, with each having scored two goals and assisted on one other. Mateja Milutin has served as the Gators' go-to keeper, playing in 10 of the team's 11 games. Across his 779 minutes in goal, Milutin has played to a 0.81 goals allowed average, a .837 save percentage, and has been a part of four shutouts, just one of them combined.

Scouting the Saxons: Alfred joins Utica in the middle of the Empire 8 standings, as they currently sit 7th. The Saxons have played to a 4-6-1 overall record, with a 2-3-1 record in the E8. The team enters their matchup following a week of rest, and with a three-game skid in progress. Over their last three games, Alfred has fallen by scores of 1-2, 0-1, and 0-3. The team will look to get back to the form of their early E8 slate. Alfred's biggest win came in their second game of the season, a 5-0 win over Penn State Altoona on August 30th.

The Saxons have had 12 separate players record at least one point, led by just three players with more than four points. Xavier Bowman leads the team with three goals and three assists for a total of nine points. Hamza Kromah joins Bowman as the only other Saxon with three goals, also recording one assist for a total of seven points. Niko Lampros has tallied five points on the season, scoring two goals and assisting on another. Tyler Mulholland has held firm control over Alfred's goal, playing all but 12 minutes of the entire season in net for the team. He has played to a 1.56 goals allowed average and a 0.622 save percentage this season.

Up Next: Next week is the final week that the Pioneers will participate in two Empire 8 matchups. On Wednesday, October 15th, the team will travel to Oneonta, NY for a 6:30 pm contest against Hartwick College. Just a few days later, on Saturday the 18th, the Pioneers will host Nazareth in a 1:00 pm matchup at Laura M. Casamento Field.