ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Nazareth scored two second half goals to defeat visiting RIT 2-0 to advance to the finals of the women's Empire 8 soccer tournament. Junior Kelly Kuhn and senior Erica Conte scored less than four minutes between each other to lead the Golden Flyers to the victory. Senior Hillary Simon recorded two saves to earn her ninth shutout of the season.
Nazareth improves to 11-6-2 overall with the victory and will advance to the Empire 8 championship game, which will be Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. at Golden Flyer Stadium. The Golden Flyers will play the winner of the second conference semifinal, which matches second seed Ithaca, ranked 19th nationally, against third seed Stevens.
The Golden Flyers improve to 21-8-5 all-time against RIT. Nazareth defeated RIT 3-0 when the teams played during the regular season at RIT October 20th.
In the 56th minute, Nazareth converted on a free kick opportunity to break the scoreless tie. Outside the RIT penalty area, Conte slid the ball to senior Meagan Rivera, who blased a shot on goal from outside the box. The Tigers' Ashley Valenti made a diving save on Rivera's shot, but Kuhn found the rebound and kicked it into the empty RIT goal.
About three minutes later, Nazareth added an insurance goal after Conte put a shot past Valenti into the left side of the net. Conte's goal began with a perfectly lobbed pass by Rivera from outside the box. Nazareth continued to pressure the Tigers offensively throughout the rest of the game, which prevented RIT from setting up a rally.
In addition to her saves, Simon also thwarted several of the Tigers' opportunities by racing out of the goal to collect the loose ball in Nazareth's penalty area before RIT could put a shot on goal. The Golden Flyers' defense also stymied the Tigers by forcing several turnovers. Valenti finished with five saves for RIT.
With its strong defensive play, Nazareth finished with an 18-2 advantage in shots and a 6-0 advantage in corner kicks. Conte finished with a game-high three shots on goal for the Golden Flyers. Kuhn, Rivera, and freshmen Anne Czelusniak and Olivia Derleth each added one shot on goal apiece. Chelsea Shoemaker and Shireen Irani recorded RIT's two shots on goal.