Field Hockey | 11/2/2021 9:37:29 PM
Top-seed St. John Fisher College (11-7) and No. 3 seed Utica College (10-8) will meet for the 2021 Empire 8 Field Hockey Championship after earning semifinal victories on Tuesday evening. The Cardinals defeated No. 4 seed Nazareth College, 6-0, while Utica held on to defeat No. 2 seed Hartwick, 2-1.
The Cardinals will host Utica in the championship match on Saturday, Nov. 6 at 5 p.m. from Growney Stadium. St. John Fisher defeated Utica, 3-1 on Oct. 6. Bre Socker scored two goals and added an assist in that contest.
St. John Fisher is attempting to win its second league title in less than six months and third overall, while Utica is looking to win its fifth Empire 8 crown and first since 2014. The Empire 8 Champion will receive an automatic berth into the 2021 NCAA Division III Championship Tournament, which starts on Nov. 10.
NO. 1 ST. JOHN FISHER 6, NO. 4 NAZARETH 0
St. John Fisher College scored three goals in the third quarter and overwhelmed fourth-seeded Nazareth College, 6-0. Fisher improved to 11-7 on the season while the Golden Flyers had their season come to a close with a 6-11 record.
The Cardinals, who scored a season-high 15 points in the win, controlled the tempo from the early stages of the game and eventually forged ahead just 53 seconds before the end of the first quarter when
Bre Socker found
Molly Fisher in front of the goal to stake the home team to a 1-0 edge.
Ahead by a goal, Fisher doubled its advantage in the 22nd minute as
Alyssa Andres rebounded her own shot and dumped it into the back of the goal for a two-goal cushion.
Coming out of halftime, Fisher kept its foot on the gas and scored three goals in a span of seven minutes to open up a commanding 5-0 lead.
Molly Fisher tallied her 10th goal of the season just four minutes into the third after coming away with a loose ball in front of the goal before Andres sent a pass into the middle that Socker deflected into the corner just 55 seconds later. Leading by four,
Gianna Palma capped the scoring in the period after Fisher found her open on the far side for her sixth tally of the year.
With the game well in hand, the Cardinals continued to pour it on in the fourth as Socker registered her fifth point of the night after netting her 17th goal to push the lead to six with time running down.
In goal,
Sophia Trozzi moved to 11-7 on the season and recorded her eighth shutout of the year. The Cardinals' defense smothered Nazareth all game and yielded just two shots over 60 minutes of play. Nazareth's Amanda Chuttey made 26 saves in the loss.
NO. 3 UTICA 2, NO. 2 HARTWICK 1
Backed by a pair of
Sabrina Whitehouse (Greenwich, NY/Greenwich) goals and an incredible defensive effort, the Utica College field hockey team advanced to its first Empire 8 championship game since 2017 after defeating Hartwick College on the road, 2-1.
After a clean first period, Whitehouse scored the first goal of the game just shy of six minutes into period two. The conference leader in goals scored maneuvered her way downfield to beat the Hawks defense and have just the goalie to beat. Whitehouse's shot was slowed down by the keeper however, the ball made its way through her legs to put the Pioneers ahead 1-0 until halftime.
Hartwick evened the game just over two minutes into the third period. Coming off of a penalty corner, Julie Ruzzi of the Hawks had her shot blocked while
Megan Chamberlain (Queensbury, NY/Queensbury) made a save on Ashley Tricarico's shot. Off of the ensuing rebound, Emily Schaub snuck the ball past Chamberlain to make it a 1-1 game.
The Pioneers retook the lead about five minutes later. Whitehouse and
Madeline Krecidlo (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) fired off a shot each while Whitehouse was fouled while attempting a shot on Krecidlo's miss. Whitehouse fired the ball to the bottom left corner to get by Hartwick goalie Madison Maddocks and reclaim the lead for Utica, 2-1.
The Hawks had three looks in the fourth period but the Pioneers defense but Chamberlain and the rest of the defense had their eyes set on the title game. Chamberlain recorded saves on all three Hartwick's shots in the fourth period to secure the semifinal win and a ticket to the conference championship.
UC attempted 13 shots on the night. Chamberlain recorded five saves, while
Lexi Scaccia (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) was credited with a defensive save in the first period.
2021 Empire 8 Field Hockey Championship Schedule
Tuesday, Nov. 2 (Semifinals)
#1 St. John Fisher defeated #4 Nazareth, 6-0 – BOX SCORE
#3 Utica defeated #2 Hartwick, 2-1 – BOX SCORE
Saturday, Nov. 6 (Championship)
#3 Utica at #1 St. John Fisher – 5 p.m.