UTICA, NY - Utica University's women's lacrosse team is set to return from the institution's spring break, taking on the Oswego State Lakers and SUNY Morrisville Mustangs in back-to-back days. The 2-1 Pioneers will first travel to Oswego on March 20th to face the Lakers in a contest rescheduled from last Saturday, the 14th. The following day, Saturday, March 21st, the orange and blue play host to SUNY Morrisville in the team's first home game in a month. The game against the Mustangs will be the team's Mike Parnell Game, honoring the late Utica men's lacrosse coaching legend.

Follow Along: The video stream for the game in Oswego can be found HERE, with live stats available HERE. The video stream for all Utica home events can be found HERE, with live stats for Utica women's lacrosse home games found HERE.

The Battle in Buffalo: Utica played in just one game the week before spring break, hitting the road to take on the Buffalo State Bengals. The orange and blue had a productive first half, taking a 5-3 lead before a 6-5 second half in favor of the hosts produced a 10-9 Pioneer victory. Sophomore Alyssa Specchio (Chenango Forks, NY/Chenango Forks) led the team with three goals, followed by senior Jessica Marciano (Churchville, NY/Churchville Chili) with two goals and one assist. Maria Stuhlman (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) and Bella Kolb (New Hartford, NY/New Hartford) each added two goals, with Anna Nitti (Brewster, NY/Brewster) netting the remaining goal. Junior netminder Makayla Purdy (Shirley, NY/William Floyd) made 11 saves in the win, even adding the first assist of her career in the contest, helping her win Empire 8 Defensive Player of the Week honors.

Top Stats Through Three: Through the Pioneers' 2-1 start to the 2026 season, several players have started to establish leads in various statistical categories. Specchio, a sophomore attacker, has been the main Pioneer goal scorer, netting 10 of the team's 27 total. Marciano follows with six, and Kolb with four, as the only other players with more than two. Nitti, a freshman, is one of two players to score twice, joined by Maria Stuhlman (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro), who made her season debut against the Bengals. In addition to the second-most goals, Marciano has the team lead with three assists, followed by only Alexis Alteri (Clinton, NY/Clinton) (two) with more than one. 

Senior captain Ella Stanton (Macedon, NY/Palmyra-Macedon) leads the team with seven ground balls, joined by Stuhlman with seven, and Marciano and Meghan Brennan (Southbury, CT/Pomperaug) following closely with six. Specchio, a former Empire 8 Offensive Player of the Week, also leads the team with 10 draw controls, with Marciano (six), Stuhlman (six), and Brennan (two) rounding out the players with multiple. Four caused turnovers by Alteri leads the way for the orange and blue, followed by Stanton and Ella Jentsch (Rosendale, NY/Our Lady of Lourdes) with three. Purdy has played all 180:00 available minutes in net, playing to a 10.00 goals allowed average and a .492 save percentage.

Laker Lowdown: Oswego State is 2-3 in the early season, though the winning percentage may not be indicative of the Lakers' strength. Through five games, the team holds a 66-39 goal differential, a +27 difference. In the three losses, including one in overtime, the squad has been outscored by a combined seven goals. The Lakers started the season with a massive 21-0 win over SUNY Poly, before losses to Clarkson (14-11), SUNY Geneseo (15-14 OT), and RIT (8-5), brought the team to 1-3. Oswego State responded with another huge win, 15-2 over Nazareth on March 11th, and will additionally take on SUNY Brockport on the 18th.

Through the first 300:00 of play for the Lakers, several key offensive players have jumped to the top of the stat sheets. Senior Alexis Hill holds a far lead in point-scoring, netting 19 goals and assisting another six for a total of 25 points. Other key contributors include Aubri Greene (10g, 3a), Gianna Zerrillo (3g, 9a), and Cassidy Croce (12g, 0a), who round out the remaining Lakers with more than seven total points. Midfielders Greene and Hill have additionally been vital outside of the offensive zone for Oswego State, as both players have tallied double-digit ground balls, caused turnovers, and draw controls, the only players to reach 10+ in any of the three categories. Senior netminder Alana Iacovissi has started all five games, recording a total of 222:47 in net. Over that time, she has posted a 9.43 goals-against average and a .444 save percentage. 

Mustang Memo: SUNY Morrisville, the previous home of Utica head coach Andrea Cofrin, has jumped out to a 3-0 record in the early days of Victor Goeller's time at the helm. In the team's season opener, the Mustangs battled to a 16-13 win over Alfred University. The squad carried momentum into a 15-5 victory over Keuka College just a few days later. In their most recent contest, a March 14th matchup with The College at Old Westbury, the Mustangs trounced the Panthers, 20-0. 

The squad's offense has been led by junior Anyssia Ingersoll, who has netted 22 of the team's 51 total goals. Fellow junior Mary Trowbridge has added 10 goals, the only other player to reach double digits. Ingersoll additionally leads the team with seven assists, followed by sophomores Grace Loadwick (five) and Samantha Budney (four) as the only other Mustangs with more than one. In the midfield, Ingersoll has firmly established herself as a strong presence, leading Morrisville in draw controls (32), caused turnovers (18), and ground balls (22). Junior Aniyah Smith has played all 180:00 between the pipes for the Mustangs, maintaining a 6.00 goals allowed average and a .486 save percentage in the early season.

Up Next: Next week, the Pioneers will begin a steady stretch of two-game weeks, with contests on Wednesdays and Saturdays. On Wednesday, March 25th, Utica will travel to face Elmira in a 4:00 pm scheduled contest. Just a few days later, on the 28th, the Nazareth Golden Flyers will come to Gaetano Stadium for the orange and blue's first Empire 8 matchup of the 2026 season. Opening draw for the 28th is set for 1:00 pm in the team's "15 For Life" Game.