UTICA, NY - The Utica University women's lacrosse team begins their 2025 season at home against Oswego State on Wednesday, February 26 at 4 p.m. Utica faces Buffalo State on Saturday, March 1 at 1 p.m. for the Facoff Against Cancer Game. Both games will be played at ABM Field & Charles. A Gaetano Stadium.
Follow Along: Both home games will be streamed on the Empire 8 Network,
here. Live stats for both can be found
here.
Hungry For More: Grace Stuhlman (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) begins the 2025 season eighth all-time in program history with 152 career points (112 goals and 40 assists) in 45 games. She needs 112 points to break the all-time record set back in 2011 by Tammy Kohanski. In two seasons, she already captured First-Team All-Conference twice and at two different positions (attack and midfield). One of the more underrated parts of Stuhlman's game is her ability to win draw controls cleanly and push transition. She's already registered 201 draw controls in two seasons and is 45 away from breaking the program record.
Key Returners:
Ella Stanton (Macedon, NY/Palmyra-Macedon),
Alexis Alteri (Clinton, NY/Clinton) and
Bella Kolb (New Hartford, NY/New Hartford) will look to make immediate impacts in their respective positions. Stanton played in 16 games on defense, collecting 15 ground balls and five takeaways. She finished the season with a ground ball in 11 consecutive games. Alteri posted seven goals and four ground balls. Kolb finished last season with 18 goals and six assists. She tallied four goals in the team's last three games combined.
Wait, Another Stuhlman?: The 2024 Empire 8 Rookie of the Year and first-team midfielder,
Maria Stuhlman (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) enters the season with a boatload of confidence. Her speed in the open field is what causes opposing defenders to slide early, leading to a dish and score. She was third on Utica with 51 points (29 goals and 22 assists). Defensively, she is a great on-ball presence, keeping offensive players outside the middle of the field and forcing them away from the net.
Between the Pipes:
Makayla Purdy (Shirley, NY/William Floyd) had an incredible freshman campaign, winning 13 games and earning second-team All-Conference honors. She ranked third in conference play with a 9.36 goals-against average and fifth sporting a .442 save percentage. Purdy will look to guide a young, but promising defensive group. She will be joined by second-year player, Angelina Boroweic.
About Oswego: The Lakers finished last season 10-7 overall and 6-3 in SUNYAC play. They lost in the first round of the conference championship to Brockport (11-10). Oswego is without their top two goal scorers from 2024, Sela Wiley and Isabella Lembo. Wiley led the team with 50 goals, 31 assists and 119 shots and Lembo had 55 goals and five assists. Madison Davis returns as a veteran to the Lakers. She had 51 points last season off 29 goals and 22 assists.
Utica vs Owsego History: The Pioneers are 8-6 all-time against the Lakers, dating back to the first meeting in 2005. Utica won three of the last four meetings and scored at least 11 goals in each of those three games. Last season, Utica won 19-12. The team entered halftime with a 13-6 lead and never looked back.
Grace Stuhlman (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) led Utica with six goals and two assists and six other players had at least two points. Purdy made 11 saves in 60 minutes of action.
About Buff St.: The Bengals went 6-9 overall and 2-7 in SUNYAC play. Buffalo St was led by Vanessa Willick who posted 47 goals and eight assists last season on 86 shots. Sage Running Rabbit led the Bengals with 26 assists, recording one in all but three contests. Utica and Buffalo St are 1-1 all-time, the Bengals' only win came in their first meeting in 2016 (17-11).
Looking Ahead: Utica travels to Oneonta, NY on Saturday, March 8 at 1 p.m. to take on SUNY Oneonta.
