Field Hockey | 4/25/2021 9:02:50 PM
The top-seeded St. John Fisher College field hockey team made history on Sunday night as the Cardinals captured their second Empire 8 Championship in team history after defeating second-seeded Hartwick College, 1-0, in Growney Stadium. With the win, Fisher finished the season atop the conference at 6-0 while the Hawks concluded their year at 4-2.
Senior
Bre Socker was named the championship's Most Valuable Player after the Liverpool native scored six goals over two games and lifted Fisher to its first Empire 8 crown since 2016.
After playing to a scoreless tie over the first half of play, Fisher scored what turned out to be the game-winning goal in the 37th minute as the Cardinals were awarded a penalty corner.
Allison Bartlett sent the ball to the top of the arc where Socker secured it and ripped a shot through the Hawks' defense and into the back of the goal to make it 1-0 in the home teams' favor.
Clinging to a one-goal edge with time winding down in the third, Fisher's defense came through in the clutch and stonewalled Hartwick on two corner attempts to preserve the lead heading to the fourth quarter.
With just 15 minutes remaining in the game, Hartwick looked to up the pace as the Hawks earned five corners and took four shots, but
Sophia Trozzi came up with three saves in the period to keep the Hawks off the board as the final horn sounded.
In all, Fisher took 10 shots with Socker and Bartlett accounting for four apiece.
Alyssa Andres and
Ashley Wightman were each credited with having taken one shot in the win. Hartwick also had 10 total shots, with seven on goal.
Trozzi moved to 6-0 in goal for Fisher as the freshman played all 60 minutes and made a season-high seven saves overall. She finished her rookie campaign with five shutouts in six games.
2021 Empire 8 Field Hockey Championship Schedule
Wednesday, April 21 - First Round
#5 Nazareth College defeats #4 Utica College, 5-2 – STATS
Friday, April 23 - Semifinals
#2 Hartwick College defeats #3 Houghton College, 3-0 – STATS
#1 St. John Fisher College defeats #5 Nazareth College, 6-0 – STATS
Sunday, April 25 - Championship
#1 St. John Fisher College defeats #2 Hartwick College, 1-0 – STATS