UTICA, NY - Pioneer Field Hockey continued its midseason surge on Wednesday afternoon, earning a 2-1 road victory over Nazareth University for its third consecutive win. The Pioneers once again received a major boost from their freshman class, as first-years accounted for three of the four goal contributions in the Empire 8 victory.
Delaney Reilly (Marathon, NY/Marathon) opened the scoring for Utica, rattling the cage on the back post as she finished a cross-crease feed from senior Jocelyn Spiezio (Greenwich, NY/Greenwich) for her second goal of the season. Fellow freshman Adele Crayton (Hudson, NY/Taconic Hills) added the eventual game-winner, snatching a score thanks to a strong redirect in front of the cage on a powerful pass from reigning Empire 8 Defensive Player of the Week Gianna Marcantonio (Queensbury, NY/Queensbury). Marcantonio's playmaker extended her points streak to six. Goalkeeper Alannah Nole (New Hartford, NY/New Hartford) did the rest for a staunch Pioneer team, holding off a late Nazareth push to secure the victory.
After a scoreless opening quarter, the Pioneers broke through in the second. At the 23:18 mark, Reilly found the back of the cage off an assist from Spiezio, finding space at the backpost and finishing a pinpoint feed to give Utica a 1-0 lead that it carried into halftime.
The Pioneers doubled their advantage early in the third quarter. At 33:35, Crayton altered a pass from Marcantonio to make it 2-0, giving the freshman her second goal of the season and goals in back-to-back contests. Nazareth responded late in the period, cutting the deficit to one at 44:11, setting up a tense final quarter.
The Pioneer defense stood tall over the final 15 minutes due to the trio of Ryleigh Johnson (Camden, NY/Camden), Keeley Savona (Kingston, NY/Kingston), and Lo Robinson (Walton, NY/Walton), keeping the Golden Flyers off the scoreboard and preserving the 2-1 win. Nole played all 60 minutes in goal and made three saves to earn the victory.
The orange and blue controlled much of the action, outshooting Nazareth 19-6 and holding a commanding 15-2 advantage in penalty corners. The team also continued to distrubute at an incredible rate, picking up two more assists as they've assisted every single goal scored in the 2026 season. The win moves Utica to 3-9 overall and 3-3 in Empire 8 play, as the orange and blue continue to build momentum with three straight victories, climbing to #5 in the Empire 8 standings. The win also snapped a two-game skid against the Golden Flyers.
The Pioneers will look to keep their winning streak alive this Saturday as they welcome Brockport for a Senior Day showdown, taking on the Golden Eagles at 2:00 PM down at Gaetano Stadium.
