UTICA, NY - Utica women's soccer took down the Morrisville Mustangs in dominant fashion at Gaetano Stadium Tuesday afternoon. The Pioneers scored early to get the ball rolling before doubling their lead before halftime. The hosts struck quickly in the second half, grabbing two more goals in the opening five minutes. An onslaught of Utica shots forced Morrisville into 18 total saves on the afternoon, with the Pioneers earning a 4-0 victory.
Similar to the previous match, the Pioneers earned an early advantage through sophomore Adrianna Calabria (Cicero, NY/Cicero-North Syracuse), who scored her fourth goal of the season. Sophomore defender Kadence Smith (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) tallied her first career assist with a dangerous cross into the box, giving Calabria a golden chance to open the scoring. With the first half winding down, the Pioneers doubled their advantage with a beautifully worked goal that cut through the heart of the Mustang defense. Outside the box, midfielder Natalia Bell (Cortland, NY/Groton)Â slid the ball to Abigail Jalocha (Maspeth, NY/Monsignior McClancy Memorial), who danced around a defender before placing her shot into the top-left corner. With 6:30 remaining in the first half, the hosts looked in pole position to win the match.
The second half began with Utica dominating possession and keeping play firmly in the visitors' half. With less than two minutes played, Calabria surged through the Mustang midfield before passing to Bailey Hewson (Plattsburgh, NY/Plattsburgh) inside the 18-yard box. A mistimed tackle from a Morrisville defender resulted in a penalty kick, and Hewson stepped up to score her third goal of the season, tallying goals in consecutive matches. Minutes later, Calabria put the game to bed with an incredible solo effort to grab her second goal of the afternoon. Calabria kept her foot on the gas, winning the ball back near midfield and driving toward goal before holding off a defender and blasting a shot across the goalkeeper and into the side netting. It was the cherry on top of a fantastic Pioneer performance at Gaetano Stadium.
The Pioneers held Morrisville to a single shot on goal while peppering the net with 22 shots on target. The Mustang goalkeeper made 18 saves, but her efforts could not stop Utica from running rampant throughout the afternoon. The victory sends the Pioneers into Empire 8 Conference play with momentum as the season begins to heat up.
The Pioneers improved to 3-2-1 overall (0-0 Empire 8) and will return to action on Saturday, September 19, against SUNY Geneseo in a conference matchup. Kickoff is set for 1:00 PM at Casamento Field.
