Men's Soccer To Host Utica College, Saturday

The Matchup: Utica College Pioneers (2-1) at Elms College Blazers (0-2)
Date: Saturday, Sept. 11
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Site: Leary Field (Chicopee, Mass.)
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All-Time Series: Saturday's contest between Elms College and Utica College marks the first-ever meeting between the sides in men's soccer.

Setting The Scene: Elms College enters Saturday's home opener looking for its first win after an 0-2 start to the season. The Blazers lost a pair of heartbreakers to New England College, 1-0 on Sept. 4 and Emmanuel College, 2-1 on Sept. 8. Utica College enters Saturday's contest having won two straight games and boasts a 2-1 overall record.

Scouting The Pioneers: After falling 2-1 in its season opener against Penn-State Behrend on Sept. 4, Utica has since recorded a pair of wins against McDaniel College (3-2 on Sept. 5) and a 7-0 victory over Cazenovia College on Sept. 8. In its most recent victory, Trevor Hoxsie (Scarborough, Maine) started the scoring surge for the Pioneers blasting the first of his two goals in the 14th minute of play. Steven Abdoo (Clinton, N.Y.) also netted a pair of goals while, Jeff Konieczny (Hadley, Mass.) added two assists to highlight Utica's impressive win.

A Glance At The 2010 Blazers: The Blazers return a trio of all New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) selections from a year ago, including a two-time first team selection in midfielder Courtney Johnson (Belchertown, Mass.), a two-time second team All-NECC member, forward/defender Chris Silva (Chicopee, Mass.) as well as sophomore forward Tavish Leland (Bridgton, Maine) who garnered First Team All-NECC honors in 2009 as a freshman.

Senior midfielders Sam Senecal (Chicopee, Mass.) and Josh Chagnon (Loudon, N.H.), defenders Justin Pearson (Torrington, Conn.) and Jon D'Amours (Chicopee, Mass.) combined with Johnson, Silva and Leland to score 71-percent of the Blazers' goals last season, and are all back looking to build on that output.

Elms also returns junior midfielder Jonathan Coyne (East Longmeadow, Mass.) and junior goalkeeper Ryan Sullivan (Agawam, Mass.).

Keeping Track Of Blazers' Athletics: For the latest news, notes and statistics visit athletics.elms.edu or call the office of sports information at (413) 265-2440. Fans can now follow the Blazers on Facebook and on live stats!