Utica Repeats as E8 Champions
Second-seeded Utica College successfully defended its Empire 8 field hockey Championship with a 5-2 win over fourth-seeded St. John Fisher College Sunday afternoon.
UC moved to 16-4 on the year, while capturing the Empire 8 title and an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. The Pioneers will now wait for the NCAA bracket to be released later this evening to find out the location and opponent of their first round game.
St. John Fisher got on the board in the 13th minute as Caitlin Allen deflected a shot from Alexis Zakala off the corner for her first goal of the season. The Pioneers rebounded eight minutes later as Hannah Mackey netted her first of the game, assisted by
Colleen Dowling. The Pioneers took a 2-1 lead in the 31st minute as
Alaina Stojkovski took a feed from
Nikki Kieffer off a penalty corner and fired home her 10th of the year. The Pioneers went into the half with a 17-4 shot advantage including a 13-1 run after the Cardinals scored.
UC continued its momentum as Mackey cushioned the lead just 13 seconds into the second half with her team-leading 18th goal of the season. The Pioneers added goals from
Louise Steele-Norton and Stojkovski to all but seal the victory. Fisher was able to net another tally on a penalty stroke in the 61st minute, but it was not enough as the Pioneers held on for the 5-2 victory.
Ally Sanders tallied one assist on the day and
Kells Casey made six saves in the win, while Danielle Famolaro had seven saves for Fisher.
2013 Empire 8 Field Hockey Championship All-Tournament Team
Stevens - #5 Rachel Chavez – Sr. - Forward
Stevens - #21 Chelsea Cresci – Sr. – Midfielder
Ithaca - #2 Andrea Pace – Sr. – Midfielder/Back
Ithaca - #34 Katie Lass – Fr. – Goalkeeper
St. John Fisher - #00 Danielle Famolaro – So. – Goalkeeper
St. John Fisher - #10 Elizabeth Cusack – So. – Forward
St. John Fisher - #19 Stacie Skidmore – Jr. – Forward
Utica - #9 Aliana Stojkovski – Jr. – Midfielder
Utica - #19 Louise Steele-Norton – Jr. – Forward
Utica - #22 Nikki Kieffer – Jr. – Back
Most Valuable Player - Utica - #3 Hannah Mackey – Jr. – Forward