UTICA, NY - The Utica women's lacrosse team completes its final two games of regular season play before the Empire 8 Conference Tournament. On Wednesday, April 23, Utica travels to Hartwick College beginning at 4 p.m. and on Saturday, April 26, at 1 p.m., the Pioneers travel to SUNY Geneseo.
 
Follow Along: Hartwick live video and live stats. Geneseo live video and live stats.
 
Last Time Out: Women's lacrosse took down the Alfred Saxons 20-4 on Senior Day (April 19) at Charles A. Gaetano Stadium. Grace Stuhlman (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) scored her 150th career goal, putting her at third all-time in program history. Jordan Kowalski (Chicopee, MA/Westfield) led Utica with eight points off four goals and four assists. Point production: Maria Stuhlman (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) (five goals and one assist), Grace (five goals and two assists), Bella Kolb (New Hartford, NY/New Hartford) (two goals and one assist), Jessica Marciano (Rochester, NY/Churchville Chili) (two goals and one assist), Abby Cangemi (Canandaigua, NY/Canandaigua Academy) (one goal), Meghan Brennan (Southbury, CT/Pomperaug) (one assist) and Alyssa Specchio (Chenango Forks, NY/Chenango Forks) (one goal and one assist). Maria led Utica with five groundballs and seven players totaled at least one caused turnover. Makayla Purdy (Shirley, NY/William Floyd) started in goal and made two saves. Angelina Borowiec (Clinton, NY/Clinton) started the second half and made one save. The Pioneers rattled off 13 goals in the first half, shutting out the Saxon's offense. Maria scored all five of her goals in the first quarter, three of them all coming in a row. Utica entered the second quarter with a 9-0 lead. Utica's defense shut down the Saxon offense in the second quarter, allowing only three shots from Alfred, two on-goal. Four different players scored in the second quarter for the Pioneers, as they would enter halftime up 13-0. Grace opened the third quarter for Utica with a goal, giving them a 14-0 lead. Alfred would get on the scoreboard, scoring their first goal with 12:40 remaining in the third, making it a 14-1 game. Four different Utica players scored in the fourth quarter, guiding them to a 20-4 victory in the team's final regular-season home game.
 
Playoff Bound: The Pioneers clinched their seventh consecutive playoff berth since 2018. Last season, the team defeated Nazareth in the E8 semifinal 18-12 and fell in the championship game to St. John Fisher. Utica can finish as high as third overall and as low as sixth overall in the playoff bracket. Playoffs began with the first round on April 29, semifinal on May 1 and championship on May 3.  All games at higher seed.

Offensive Firepower: Utica has totaled 40 goals in their last two victories and have only allowed seven. Jordan Kowalski (Chicopee, MA/Westfield) is responsible for 14 points off eight goals and six assists in those two games against Sage and Alfred. Specchio and Kolb have been lighting up the scoreboard as of late. Specchio has four goals and three assists in those two games and Kolb has five goals and one helper. 
 
Where We Stand: Utica enters Wednesday's game sixth overall in league play with a 4-3 Empire 8 record. 

Empire 8 Standings
* = Clinched
St. John Fisher* (14-0, 7-0 E8)
Geneseo* (9-6, 6-1 E8)
Nazareth* (9-6, 5-2 E8)
Brockport* (6-8, 5-2 E8)
Hartwick* (7-6, 4-3 E8)
Utica* (7-6, 4-3 E8)
Alfred (5-9, 2-5 E8)
Keuka (4-8, 1-6 E8)
Russell Sage (2-10, 1-6 E8)
Poly  (1-11, 0-7 E8)

Record Breaker: Grace had a dominant week at Gaetano Stadium, recording her 200th career point against Sage and her 150th career goal against Alfred. She is now third all-time in both of those categories. She is seventh in the conference with 58 points off 41 goals and 17 assists, averaging 4.46 points per game. Grace has posted at least four points in the last four contests with a total of 14 goals and eight assists. The two Stuhlman sisters have combined for 76 of the team's 173 goals throughout the season.
 
Anotha' One: Maria has been making plays all over the field for Utica, winning 18 draw controls in the last five conference games and 14 groundballs. She also has a total of 18 points in the last five games (16 goals and two assists). Against Alfred, she notched five goals in the first quarter, three of them coming within three minutes of each other. Maria is currently seven points away from 100 career points and leads Utica on the season wth 35 groundballs and 14 caused turnovers.
 
Goalie of the Week: Angelina Borowiec (Clinton, NY/Clinton) won Empire 8 Goalie of the Week after her 11 saves combined against Russell Sage and Alfred. Against Sage, Borowiec posted 10 saves and against Alfred, she recorded one save.
 
About Hartwick: The Hawks are 7-6 overall and 4-3 in conference play. The team has won their last two games 22-7 over SUNY Poly and 21-7 over Keuka. Midfielder Kristen Vaccarelli leads Hartwick with 61 goals and 18 assists for a total of 79 points in 13 games played. Following Vaccarelli is attacker  Katrina Marten with 12 goals and 44 assists for a total of 56 points. Brooke Lynett has been Hartwick's starter between the pipes, starting all 13 games. Lynett has 85 saves and has a 15.24 goals against average. Alexis Patrakis has appeared in 11 games between the pipes and has an 8.73 goals against average.  Hartwick is 7-16 all-time against the Pioneers, dropping their last game 15-13. The Hawks have not beaten Utica since 2007 and are looking to break the Pioneers' 16 win streak against them.
 
About Geneseo: The Knights are 9-6 overall and 6-2 in conference play. The team has won their last two games 22-1 over Keuka and 25-1 over SUNY Poly. Attacker Maddie Brown leads the Knights with 74 points, off of 29 goals and 45 assists. Midfielder Rosemary Mahoney follows with 52 points, off of 32 goals and 20 assists. Emily DeJohn has been the starter between the pipes for the Knights. In 15 games, she has 75 saves and a 12.30 goals against average. Teagan Culhane has played nine games in goal with 18 saves and an 8.38 goals against average. Geneseo is 2-1 all-time against the Pioneers, winning their last game 12-1. The Knights and Pioneers' last meet-up was on April 13th, 2011, making it 14 years since their last matchup.
 
Looking Ahead: Utica readies for the Empire 8 Conference tournament beginning on Tuesday, April 29.