Utica Downs Castleton 3-1, Advances to NCAA 2nd Round at Middlebury on Saturday
For the second year in a row, the Utica College field hockey team won its first round game and will advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Pioneers topped visiting Castleton State 3-1 Wednesday evening at Charles A. Gaetano Stadium to advance to the second round where they will take on Middlebury College on Saturday.
Three different players scored on the day for UC including sophomore
Colleen Dowling (Fairport, NY/Fairport), and juniors
Louise Steele-Norton (Avondale, PA/Millbrook School) and
Hannah Mackey (Locke, NY/Moravia Central). Dowling and Steele-Norton also had one assist each and
Angela Charles (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool) added her fifth helper of the year to pace the Pioneers. "Getting that first goal really helped us to keep the momentum early in the game," said
Colleen Dowling (Fairport, NY/Fairport), who put the Pioneers on top 1-0 in the first half. "We came out really hard, but fell back a little bit in the middle of the first half and luckily we were able to regroup and come away with the win."
Castleton was able to get one on the board in the 47th minute as leading scorer Rachel Preusser netted her 26th goal of the season. However, sophomore
Kells Casey (Sandwich, MA/Kimball Union Academy) did not allow another goal as she made ten saves for her UC record, 17th win this season. "Castleton had some really good shots from out top off penalty corners today and our defense was prepared for that," said Casey, who ranks seventh in the country with a save percentage of .831. "
Angela Charles (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool) and the defense had my back completely today so I have to give a lot of the credit to them."
The Pioneers outshot Castleton 20-14 on the day, and each team had 12 corner opportunities. Jessica Galatioto had 13 saves in net for Castleton, but it was not enough as the Spartans wrap up their season with a 14-7 record.
"I thought our team speed with the ball was a key for us today, our passing was solid for portions of the game as well and we took advantage of the corner opportunities when they were presented to us," said Head Coach
Sarah Elleman who recently won her second straight Empire 8 Conference title. "Castleton State was a good opponent for us today and we are just thrilled to be able to move on to the Sweet 16 for the second straight season. "
The 2013 Pioneers became the first team in program history to score over 200 points in a single season. They also extended their single season record for goals (77), assists (49) and wins (17) in program history.
Utica (17-4) will now head to Middlebury, VT for the next two rounds of play. The Pioneers take on host and No. 3 seed Middlebury College on Saturday at 11 a.m. The winner will advance to take on the winner of the Skidmore-Keene St. match up.