UTICA, NY - The Utica University women's soccer team is set to open the 2025 campaign at home against the Lycoming College Warriors on Friday, August 29. Kickoff from Laura M. Casamento Field is set for 3pm. 
 
Follow Along: Live video can be found here, and live stats can be found here. 
 
Run it Back: Last season's edition of the Pioneers saw the squad post a 5-11-2 overall record, and a 3-6-2 record in conference play. Hoping to continue the program's recent successes in playoff hopes, the final day of the regular season would see the Pioneers be edged out of Empire 8 Conference tournament contention for the first time in the tenure of Head Coach Brooke Barbuto. 
 
Schedule Breakdown: The 2025  regular season for the Pioneers begins on August 29and will culminate in the 2025 Empire 8 Conference Women's Soccer Tournament, which is slated to begin on November 1. The Pioneers will host nine home contests this season, with three home non-conference matchups in Lycoming College, SUNY Potsdam, and Hamilton College in the team's final home non-conference game on September 17. On the road, the Pioneers will travel to SUNY Canton before taking on the Blue Devil Clarion Classic at Fredonia with Oswego State, before completing the road non-conference slate on September 12 against SUNY Morrisville. Empire 8 Conference play begins on September 20 as the Pioneers host Houghton University in Utica's first conference contest of the season. 
 
At the Helm: Head Coach Brooke Barbuto enters her sixth season as the head coach of the Utica University women's soccer program in 2025. Barbuto has continued the program's positive momentum from recent years in her six seasons on the job. Barbuto has led the Pioneers to three Empire 8 Championship game appearances and the team has reached the postseason in all but one year of her tenure. That includes the program's first Empire 8 tournament title and NCAA tournament appearance in 2019. She has piloted the squad to a record of 42-41-16 over a six season span. Despite missing the Empire 8 tournament for the first time in Barbuto's tenure last season, the team completed the season with four All-Conference selections. 
 
Be On the Lookout: Amber Piersma (Cassville, NY/Mount Markham) and Rylee Lamphere (Little Falls, NY/Dolgeville) have returned for their final campaigns in the orange and blue this season. Piersma, who has only competed in one season for the Pioneers after transferring in from nearby MVCC, has already left her mark on the program and is looking to build off of last season's momentum. Piersma started in all 18 games for the Pioneers last season, managing to find the back of the net seven times. Piersma also totalled 44 shot attempts last season, recording at least one shot in 16 out of 18 games and averaged 2.44 shots per game. Piersma led the team in almost every offensive category last season managing 26 shots on goal with 15 total points. Putting her stamp on the record book, Piersma's figures last season were good enough to break into the top-ten in career points per game, career goals per game, and career shots per game. Lamphere has built a storied career of her own for the Pioneers, playing in 54 games through her three seasons in the orange and blue. Lamphere has managed to find the back of the net 14 total times, which is good enough for 13th in the career record book. Heading into her final season, Lamphere has recorded 95 total shot attempts, 53 shots on goal, and has averaged 1.76 shots per game through her career, each a mark good enough to etch her name into the Pioneer history books. 
 
One Last Time: Samantha Kogut (North Adams, MA/Drury) and Kayla Giovingo (Centereach, NY/Centereach) have also returned for the Pioneers this season. Kogut, a senior, is looking to complete her career in record breaking fashion. After starting in all 55 games of her career, and playing a total of 4497 minutes in those games, Kogut is poised to become the newest Utica Women's Soccer Ironwoman. Kogut is on pace to set a new record in games started and played with 73 if she starts and plays in all 18 games this season. Averaging around 87 minutes per game last season, Kogut, with the same momentum, would shatter the existing minutes played record (5733, Summer Gagnon 2017-20), with a staggering 6058 minutes played. Giovingo, also a senior, has also turned in an impressive career for the Pioneers. Playing as a defender, Giovingo has managed to find the back of the net four times, three of which came last season, with a total of nine points with 18 shot attempts and 13 shots on goal throughout her three seasons for the Pioneers. 
 
Guess Who's Back: Natalia Bell (Cortland, NY/Groton) and Cora Kraft (Poughquag, NY/Arlington) have returned for their third seasons with the Pioneers, looking to build momentum from their sophomore campaigns. Bell has managed to find herself in the mix after playing in all 18 games for the Pioneers last season. Recording her first collegiate goal last season, and tacking on another one later on, Bell has managed 14 shot attempts and nine shots on goal throughout her career, even after limited opportunities in her freshman campaign. Cora Kraft (Poughquag, NY/Arlington) has been a stout defender in the backfield for the Pioneers logging an impressive 3148 minutes in her two seasons at Utica. The junior defender has also managed to get herself into the offensive mix, tallying a total of 1 7 shot attempts and 11 shots on goal throughout her career as a Pioneer so far. 
 
Welcome to the Club: Utica is welcoming a transfer class of five this season in Josephine O'Hare (Greenville, NY/Greenville Central), Mallory Mower (Mohawk, NY/Central Valley Academy), Krista Panko (Ilion, NY/Central Valley Academy), Kailee Figger (New Berlin, NY/Unadilla Valley), and Natalia Herron (Oakdale, NY/Central Islip). O'Hare, a senior goalkeeper, comes to Utica by way of Hudson Valley Community College. At HVCC, O'Hare appeared in 24 games logging a total of 2160 minutes throughout her career as a Viking. Herron, a junior goalkeeper, became a Pioneer by way of Suffolk County Community College where she appeared in 11 games and posted a 0.74 goals against average with 57 saves in her sophomore season. Figger, a junior midfielder/defender, comes to Utica by way of SUNY Morrisville, where she appeared in seven games for the Mustangs. Mower and Panko come to Utica by way of nearby Mohawk Valley Community College, where each was a member of their NJCAA National Runner-Up squad last season. Panko finished her season with six goals and 13 points, while Mower finished the season with two goals and nine points. 
 
Starting Fresh: The Pioneers are welcoming 11 freshmen to the squad this season. Head Coach Barbuto will look to Avery Lawton (Fulton, NY/G. Ray Bodley), Samantha Ferguson (Westmoreland, NY/Westmoreland), Bailey Hewson (Plattsburgh, NY/Plattsburgh), Ryleigh Williams (Phoenix, NY/John C. Birdlebough), Hailey Barron (Oxford, NY/Unatego), Sydney Rochefort (Massena, NY/Massena Central), Emma Cross (Port Jefferson Station, NY/Comsewogue), Abby McCord (Ulster Park, NY/Kingston), Kadence Smith (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro), Adrianna Calabria (Cicero, NY/Cicero-North Syracuse), and Lily Martin (Poland, NY/Poland) to make an impact this season. 
 
A Look at Lycoming: The Lycoming College Warriors finished the 2024 season with a 15-3-3 record and a 6-1-2 record in Landmark Conference play. The Warriors entered the Landmark Conference tournament and eventually fell to the number one seeded Scranton in the conference final. The Warriors have returned their top three point producers from last season on Mikayla Long, Ella Magee, and Aubrey Williamson. Long and Magee each managed to find the back of the net nine times last season, each with three assists. Williamson was able to register six goals last season with a team high nine assists. Those three managed to combine for a total of 151 shot attempts and 85 shots on goal last season. The Warriors have also returned their starter between the pipes in Riley Block, who appeared in 17 games last season and posted a 0.82 goals against average with a total of 89 saves. The Pioneers have only squared off against the Warriors one other time in program history, a neutral site contest back in 2014, where the Pioneers defeated Lycoming by a score of 2-1. 
 
Up Next: The Pioneers will hit the road for the first time this season, and are set to take on the SUNY Canton Kangaroos on Tuesday, September 2. Game time from Canton, NY is set for 4pm.