ONEONTA, NY - Hartwick women's soccer earned its third straight Empire 8 Tournament bid, and is looking to repeat as champions after sharing the title with Stevens in 2017. The Hawks will take on the Utica Pioneers in their semifinal matchup this Friday.
           
Hartwick had a strong start to their season, going undefeated (4-0-1) through their first five games, which included a fifth straight Brozman Cup victory. They alternated wins and losses through their first five Empire 8 matches, but took two of the last three, including a season-closing victory against 4th-seed Sage, to end up third in the conference at 5-3 (9-7-1 overall).
           
As a team, the Hawks were anchored by their defense, conceding just 0.75 goals per game in conference matches, good for third overall. All of Hartwick's conference wins came via shutout. Offensively, they were not as stout. While they were fourth in the conference in both shots per game (15.88) and shots on goal per game (7.75), they were just seventh in goals per game, at 1.13. Overall, the Hawks' conference matches were defensive affairs; there were just 15 goals scored in Hartwick's matches, the lowest total of any Empire 8 team.
          
Individually, Gabrielle Kreppein (Glens Falls, NY/South Glens Falls) led the Hawks on offense in both goals and assists, with seven and four, respectively. She also had the most shots, 44, by a healthy margin. Tanner Reed (Unadilla, NY/Unatego Central) and Rachel Weir (New Milford, CT/New Milford) also had solid seasons for 'Wick, each with four goals and two assists. Alexa DuBois (Hobart, NY/South Kortright) contributed three tallies and two assists. Kreppein finished in the top ten in the conference in shots (2.88 per game, T-6th), goals (4, T-9th), and assists (3, T-2nd) in conference matches. Cassandra Robataille (Amsterdam, NY/Amsterdam) handled the goalkeeping for Hartwick, finishing third in the conference in goals against average (0.75) and first in shutouts, with four.
           
Utica had a bit of an inauspicious start to their season, going winless through its first three matches and starting out 1-3-1. They picked it up, though, going 4-0-1 through their next five. After losing the next two, the Pioneers won their next five (including three conference matches) before losing their season finale at first-place Stevens. Utica ended up with a record of 10-6-2, 5-2-1 in the Empire 8, good for second place.
 
The Pioneers used a fairly high-powered attack to earn that second-place finish, averaging 2.4 goals per game, tied for second in the league. They had to be efficient on their shots, however, as they were just sixth in the conference in shots per game (11.5) and fifth in shots on goal per game (7.25). Utica was in the middle of the pack defensively, finishing sixth in the E8 in goals allowed per game, at 1.63, and saves per game (signaling an above-average amount of shots allowed), at 6.4. Despite that, they tied for third in shutouts with four, as six of their conference goals conceded came in one match.
           
Mikayla Blumenstock led the Pioneers in goals this season, with 11, and also tied for the team-lead in assists, with four. Kierra Caissey also had a fine year, averaging a point per game with eight goals and two assists in 18 matches. Blumenstock and Caissey also led the team in shots, with 59 and 45 respectively. In conference play, they provided a formidable one-two punch, as they tied for second in the conference with seven goals apiece. Goalkeeper Allison Wagner was comfortably in the top-half of all statistical categories, finishing fourth in goals against average (0.97), tied for third in save percentage (.857), third in saves per game (5.25), and tied for second in shutouts (3).
           
These two teams met once this season, when Utica came to Oneonta on October 20 and beat Hartwick, 2-0. The win was the first for the Pioneers in their last seven tries against the Hawks. Although Hartwick more than doubled up Utica in both shots (13 to 6) and shots on goal (8 to 3), the Pioneers were able to steal the game courtesy of a Blumenstock goal in the 12th minute and an insurance goal in the 64th minute from Carly Craft.
           
The Hawks are 1-2 in the Empire 8 semifinal round. They lost at Ithaca 4-0 in their first appearance in 2002 and dropped a 2-1 decision at Stevens in 2016. Last season, they blanked Alfred at home 3-0 before tying Stevens 0-0 for a share of the conference crown.
           
'Wick will take on Utica this Friday, November 2, at 4 p.m., at the Debaun Athletic Complex on the campus of host Stevens in Hoboken, NJ. The winner will advance to the conference championship, played in the same location on Saturday, November 3 at 7 p.m., against the winner of Sage vs. Stevens. Live stats can be found at: http://www.statbroadcast.com/events/statbroadcast.php?t=1&gid=sit. The live stream can be accessed at: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/stevens/.