Andrew Mazzatti
Staff Writer

The Utica College women’s soccer team lost to SUNY Potsdam Saturday. The Pioneers were on the road for this non-conference 3-0 defeat. The Potsdam women scored two goals in the first half and added a third in the second half to put it out of reach. Utica College was outshot 13-3, putting two of those shots on target.
The Pioneers, led by first-year head coach Eileen Coyle, also dropped their conference opener on Tuesday against Hartwick 2-0.

“Every game is an important game for us-whether its non-conference or conference play,” Coyle said. “Because we want to be strong contenders and make our presence known in our conference, we are re-addressing our goals and making sure that we are on the same page in terms of what we want to accomplish and how we are going to ensure we accomplish our goals.”
In the loss to Hartwick, junior goalie Jamie Enders made eight saves. The Pioneers managed to get just one shot off.
“We couldn’t generate any offense,” senior Krystine Alvear said. “We came out very strong and were dictating the game. The second half, they switched up their style of play and we had a hard time marking up.”
The Pioneers head to Elmira this Saturday in search of their first conference win.
UC is looking to get back on the winning side of the matchup against Elmira. The Pioneers suffered a 4-0 loss at Elmira in the season finale last season. This season the Soaring Eagles are 0-6 and also begin conference play this week. UC only lost three players from that team of 2014 and will look to rely on experienced play to get two wins this week. These games are very important wins Head Coach Eileen Coyle understands the significance of them.
“The team is hungry for this win,” she said. “Every day we are more competitive, so to have our first conference game be a win will be a huge payoff in terms of how hard we have been working to prepare for this season.”
The Pioneers have struggled offensively in their last few games, scoring just one goal over the past three games.
In their last two losses, the Pioneers have put just three shots on goal.
Despite the tough losses, Alvear is excited for the weekend.
“We learned from the losses and put them behind us,” she said. “This weekend is a big weekend for us and we just have to work hard to get these two wins.”