No. 5 Russell Sage and No. 6 Alfred Advance to 2023 Empire 8 Semifinal Round

Women's Soccer | 10/28/2023 7:23:16 PM

No. 5 seed Russell Sage College and sixth-seeded Alfred University advanced to the 2023 Empire 8 Championship Tournament Semifinal round after advancing in first round action on Saturday, Oct. 28. Russell Sage rallied with two late goals to defeated No. 4 Houghton University, 3-2, while Alfred played to scoreless tie at No. 3 Utica University before advancing on penalty kicks, 3-2.

The Gators will head to top-seed Nazareth College in the first Empire 8 Semifinal on Thursday, Nov. 3 at 2 p.m., while Alfred will make the trio to face No. 2 seed St. John Fisher for the second semifinal game at 7 p.m. Earlier this season, Nazareth earned a 1-0 win over Houghton at Burke Field in Houghton on Sept. 27, while St. John Fisher and Alfred played to a 1-1 draw in Alfred on Sept. 16.

NO. 6 ALFRED 0, NO. 3 UTICA 0 (ALFRED advances on PK's, 3-2)
The Alfred University women's soccer advanced to the Empire 8 Semifinals following a 3-2 penalty kick shootout win over Utica University on Saturday from Cadamento Field. The Saxons (4-5-7, 2-1-5 Empire 8) successfully defended 18 shots from the Pioneers (7-6-4, 2-3-4 Empire 8), 13 of which were on goal.
 
Kiani Barnard-Pratt (Westford, MA/Westford Academy) had a stellar performance in goal for Alfred University, recording 13 saves as part of a shutout performance. Olivia Gilbert (Ontario, NY/Wayne Central) finished the game with a team-high 2 shots on goal. A total of 7 different Saxons logged a full 110 minutes played as part of the win.
 
"I'm really proud of our efforts as part of this team win," Head Coach Craig Yanni said. "We're looking forward to getting healthy and competing against a talented Fisher team in the next round of the Empire 8 Tournament."
 
The Saxons was aggressive to open the first half, as Kayla Silverstein (North Chili, NY/Churchville-Chili) was the first Saxon to record a shot on goal during the 2nd minute of action. The defense played well to begin the game, holding the Pioneers without a shot on goal until the 18th minute of play. Alfred University held Utica without an additional shot on goal for the remainder of the first half before going into halftime with a scoreless draw.
 
The best scoring opportunity for the Saxons in the second half came during the 75th minute, as Evony Diaz (Santa Barbara, CA/San Marcos) took a shot that reflected off the crossbar. The defense remained strong in the closing half of regulation, defending 6 shots across the final 10 minutes before forcing the game into overtime.
 
Barnard-Pratt recorded 3 saves in the first portion of extra time before the defense didn't allow Utica to force a shot attempt in the second portion of overtime, sending both sides into a penalty shootout.
 
After both goalkeepers picked up saves in the first round of the shootout, Alyssa Smith (Pearl River, NY/Pearl River) found the back of the net to give AU the advantage. In the third round, Nyah Solly (Colden, NY/Springville-Griffith Institute) scored for the Saxons. With the opportunity to clinch the victory, Lina Young (North Collins, NY/North Collins) came through for Alfred University and secured the win. NO. 4 HOUGHTON 2,

NO. 5 RUSSELL SAGE 3, NO. 4 HOUGHTON 2
Visiting Russell Sage College scored twice in the final 3:39 to defeat Houghton 3-2 in Saturday's first round of the Empire 8 Conference Championship Tournament. The Gators (9-4-4), seeded fifth, will play at top-seeded Nazareth in the Semifinals on Wednesday, November 1.

Sophomore forward Gianna Viscusi (Duanesburg, NY/Schalmont) scored with three seconds left to complete the comeback and send RSC  back into the Semis for the second-consecutive year.

With its season on the line down a goal, the Gators tilted the pitch in their comeback attempt. RSC took the final eight shots of the playoff contest, part of out-shooting the fourth-seeded Highlanders  16-5 in the second half and 27-12 on the night.

Senior forward Kennedy Jones (Albany, NY/Albany), the leading scorer in the conference with 20 points, registered her second goal of the night to tie it with 3:39 remaining.  Viscusi delivered the game-winner 216 seconds later via a feed from senior forward Marissa Key (Monroe, NY/Monroe-Woodbury) to put the Gators on top.

After Jones opened the scoring 7:27 in, Houghton freshman forward Karryne Mims answered just 1:08 later to tie.

The rookie, who tops the E8 with nine goals scored, added her second of the game in the 18th minute to put the Highlanders (7-9-1) ahead.

Junior goalkeeper Alliah Fluent did what she could to stem the RSC offense from there, making 10 saves in defeat.