Nazareth and St. John Fisher to Meet for 2021 Empire 8 Women's Soccer Championship

Women's Soccer | 11/4/2021 6:13:12 PM

Top-seed Nazareth College and No. 3 seed St. John Fisher picked up wins in the semifinals of the 2021 Empire 8 Women's Soccer Championship on Thursday, November 4. Nazareth defeated No. 4 seed Hartwick, 3-0, while St. John Fisher held off No. 2 seed Alfred, 1-0.

Nazareth will host St. John Fisher in the 2021 Empire 8 Women's Soccer Championship match on Saturday, November 6 at 11 a.m. from Golden Flyer Stadium. The Golden Flyers are attempting to win their 11th league championship and first since 2014, while St. John Fisher is looking for its first title. Nazareth and St. John Fisher recently met on Oct. 20 at Golden Flyer Stadium, with the hosts securing a 3-1 win. Nazareth jumped out to a 3-0 lead before the game was 26 minutes old on the strength of two goals from Kristen Prohaska.

Saturday's winner earns the Empire 8's automatic berth into the 2021 NCAA Division III Women's Soccer Championship Tournament.

NO. 1 NAZARETH 3, NO. 4 HARTWICK 0
Top-seeded Nazareth put forth a dominant effort Thursday to advance past Hartwick. The Golden Flyers had three different goal scorers, plus a penalty kick save from goalkeeper Annika Monfort to take down the fourth-seeded Hawks, 3-0. Nazareth improved to 9-6-3 with the victory, while Hartwick dropped to 7-6-4.

Seniors Ashley Plane and Lauren Begy netted first-half goals to give a Golden Flyers a commanding lead. Junior Sarah Merriwether scored for the Golden Flyers in the second half, but that came after Monfort made a diving penalty kick save to keep the Hawks off the scoreboard.

Plane's goal came in the 29th minute as she finished a short pass in the box from McKayla Hughes. Begy's goal came six minutes later as she used her head to redirect a crossing pass from Merriwether.

Monfort's big save came in the 52nd minute after Hartwick's Hannah Bochniak was fouled in the penalty area. Hartwick's Nicole Casab was selected to take the pk and Monfort guessed correctly in diving to her right to turn away the attempt and then covering the rebound.

In the 70th minute, Merriwether was able to seal the deal with her first goal of the season as she headed home a corner kick from the foot of Caleigh Cahoon.

Nazareth had significant advantages in shots (23-8) and corner kicks (8-0). Monfort finished with six saves for her eighth shutout.

Saturday's game will mark Nazareth's 14th appearance in the Empire 8 finals -- more than any other team. The Golden Flyers will be seeking their 11th E8 title and their first since 2014. In addition, Nazareth will be trying for its 11th NCAA Tournament appearance and first since 2016.

#3 ST. JOHN FISHER 1, NO. 2 ALFRED 0
Third-seeded St. John Fisher College defeated second-seeded Alfred University, 1-0 at Yunevich Stadium.  With the win, Fisher improved to 10-5-1 on the year while the Saxons' season was ended at 10-5-4.  The win had added significance as it marked the first time the Cardinals have reached double-digit wins in a single season since the team went 11-5-1 in 1995.

The Saxons tested Fisher's backline early and often as the home team accounted for three shots and two corners over the first 30 minutes of play.  After holding its ground, Fisher returned the favor and peppered Alfred's defense with two shots in a span of five seconds before Alexis Gossage found Carli Kovarik in the middle for the senior's 15th goal of the season and a 1-0 Cardinals' advantage.

As the half wore on, Alfred took to net the equalizer as the home team accounted for three shots over the final nine minutes of the first half, but Fisher's defense came away with two blocks to maintain a one-goal lead heading into the second half.

With 45 minutes remaining in the contest, Fisher's pace quickened as head coach Molly Romano's squad looked to pad its lead with four shots including two on goal through the 70th minute.

Still leading by one with time winding down, Fisher's defense came through once again after coming up with another big block in the 79th minute to preserve the 1-0 lead.

In all, the Cardinals accounted for 11 shots in the win led by Kovarik who was credited with having taken seven on the night.  Emma Osterhoudt, Grace Wolsieffer, Kathleen Rachwal and Gossage had one shot apiece.

In goal, Halle Tickell moved to 9-4-1 overall as the senior picked up her fifth clean sheet of the season after making two saves over 90 minutes of play.