UTICA, NY – The Utica College football team travels to Washington, D.C. on Saturday to take on The Catholic University of America in week two action at 12 p.m.   

Broadcast Info:  CUA will provide live video and live statistics throughout Saturday's contest at: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/cua/.

Week 1 Recap: The Pioneers kicked off their 2017 season with an impressive 20-7 victory over visiting St. Lawrence University on Saturday night at Charles A. Gaetano Stadium … Utica did not trail the entire contest, holding the Saint scoreless for the first 53:43 of the game ...  Senior running back Nicodemus Gambill (Rochester, NY/East High) sparked the Pioneer offense with a career-high 161 yards rushing on just 16 carries and he also added two rushing touchdowns of 59 and 39 yards … Sophomore linebacker Antonio Scala (Coram, NY/Longwood) had a banner evening, posting a career-high 11 tackles to go along with a fumble recovery in the end zone to hand the Pioneers a 6-0 first quarter lead.

In the National Spotlight: The Pioneers rank third nationally and first in the Empire 8 Conference with a 4.00 turnover margin after picking off two passes and recovering two fumbles in Saturday's win over St. Lawrence … Mark Taylor (Buffalo, NY/Kenmore West)ranks 10^th nationally and first in the Empire 8 Conference with three passes defended.

Defense Wins Championships: UC was just a few stops short of securing their first shutout since 2014 on Saturday … The defensive unit allowed just seven points and 256 total yards, marking their best effort since week six of last season when they held Buffalo State to 253 yards of total offense in a 26-13 win. 

Strong on Third Down: The UC defense was particularly tough on third down against St. Lawrence and the Pioneers currently rank fourth in the country and first in the conference after holding the Saints to a 1-for-16 effort on third down last weekend.

Tough Up Front: The Utica offensive line was stout in the win over St. Lawrence as they did not allow a single sack all afternoon … The Pioneer front also paved the way for 231 rushing yards which ranks third in the E8. 

Fastest Man in D3?: Fifth year senior running back Nicodemus Gambill (Rochester, NY/East High) exploded for a career-high 161 yards rushing on Saturday on just 16 carries … He currently ranks second in the Empire 8 in rushing yards … He also ranks first in the conference and ninth nationally in yards per carry (10.06), thanks to two long touchdown runs of 59 and 39 yards last week … Gambill, a two-sport athlete, is a four-time NCAA Division III All-American and an eight-time national qualifier over the course of his sprinting career for the track & field program … He also recently qualified for the USA Bobsled & Skeleton rookie camp which took place August 21-27 in Lake Placid, NY.

ABA Locks it Down: Senior captain Anthony Bierria-Anderson (Freeport, NY/Freeport) made eight stops and picked off a pass for Utica last week … He now has 21 career games played and has totaled 109 tackles, five interceptions and five pass breakups … His five interceptions rank in the top ten all-time at Utica College.

Stepping Up: First year varsity players Elijah Belle (Plainfield, NJ/Plainfield) and Mark Taylor(Buffalo, NY/Kenmore West) both had big season opening games for the Pioneers … Belle posted four tackles and his first career interception, which he returned 42 yards … Taylor made six stops and broke up three passes on the afternoon for the UC defense.

Pressuring the QB: The UC defense posted three sacks last weekend and caused four turnovers … Senior linebacker Derrick Sekuterski (Depew, NY/Depew) made six tackles and added a half sack ... Transfer Sean McKean (Bohemia, NY/Connetquot) made one key fourth quarter sack in his debut with the Pioneers … Jack Derby (Fonda, NY/Fultonville Fonda)added three tackles and one sack … Xyier Woodard (Albany, NY/LaSalle) also added a half sack off the edge and now has four career sacks to his credit.

Building a Winning Tradition: Utica has now won at least five games in five of its last seven seasons … 10^th year Head Coach Blaise Faggiano is now 45-48 overall and the Pioneers have earned an ECAC Bowl bid in two of the last three seasons.

Season-Opening Success: The Pioneers are now 13-4 all-time in season-opening contests and they have started the year with a victory in nine consecutive seasons.

Tough Week One Opponent: St. Lawrence University was certainly not overlooked in week one as they headed into the contest receiving votes in the D3football.com Preseason National Poll … The Saints finished their 2016 season with a 9-1 record and lost a tiebreaker for the Liberty League's automatic bid into the NCAA Division III Tournament.

Captains: The Pioneers 2017 captains include Anthony Bierria-Anderson (Freeport, NY/Freeport) and senior cornerback Matthew McCoy (Sherrill, NY/Vernon Verona Sherrill) on the defensive side of the ball … The offensive captains are junior center Dan Busold (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa) and junior running back Malcolm Stowe (Coram, NY/Longwood).

First Meeting Against Catholic: Utica and Catholic (CUA) are squaring off for the first time in program-history on Saturday … CUA opened the 2017 season on the road at McDaniel on Saturday but were topped by the Green Terror, 30-10 … In a tale of two halves, Catholic and McDaniel traded scores in the second quarter and the score was set ay 13-10 at halftime, but the Green Terror came out strong after the break with 17 second half points to secure the win … Sophomore quarterback Alejandro Ros finished the day with 134 passing yards and a score …  Junior running back Nick Esposito chipped in 55 yards on the ground while classmate Kyle Catalano led the Cards in the air with 57 receiving yards, including a 52-yard bomb from Ros … Senior linebacker Anthony Santo racked up 16 tackles, one for loss and a fumble recovery … His classmate and safety Luke Kern also stuffed the stat sheet with 11 tackles, two forced fumbles and a pass breakup.