Men's Soccer | 11/2/2024 8:23:59 PM
St. John Fisher University, SUNY Brockport, Hartwick College and Elmira College advanced to the 2024 Empire 8 Men’s Soccer Championship Tournament Semifinal round after advancing in quarterfinal action on Saturday, Nov. 2. Top-seed St. John Fisher out-lasted No. 8 Russell Sage College, 1-0, while No. 5 SUNY Brockport went on the road and defeated No. 4 SUNY Poly, 3-0. No. 6 Hartwick and No. 3 Geneseo played to a 1-1 draw before Hartwick advanced, 6-5 on penalty kicks. Defending champion Elmira, the No. 7 seed, scored two second half goals to rally and defeat No. 2 Nazareth University, 2-1.
No. 6 Hartwick will host No. 7 Elmira in the first Empire 8 Semifinal on Wednesday, Nov. 6 at 6:30 p.m. from Elmore Field, while No. 1 St. John Fisher and No. 5 SUNY Brockport will meet in the second semifinal from Growney Stadium at 7 p.m. Earlier this season, Hartwick defeated Elmira, 3-0 at home on Oct. 9, while St. John Fisher earned a 1-0 win over Brockport on Oct. 12.
NO. 1 ST. JOHN FISHER 1, NO. 8 RUSSELL SAGE 0
St. John Fisher University men's scored early and held on the rest of the way for a 1-0 victory over No. 8-seeded Russell Sage in the first round of the Empire 8 Men's Soccer Championship on Saturday evening at Growney Stadium. Fisher improved to 10-4-4 this season, while Russell Sage had its season come to an end with a 7-8-3 mark.
Senior
Riley Rease scored his fifth goal of the season – and fourth in his last five games – to put the Cardinals ahead at the 5:47 mark in the first half. The forward has 13 points over 12 games this season, the second most on the team.
The Cardinals' defense – as it did so many times in the regular season – took care of the rest. Goalkeeper
Christian Burkhart made five saves and recorded his 11th shutout of the season, the most in the Empire 8 and tied for the most in all of Division III. The Cardinals, who haven't allowed a goal since Oct. 16, have blanked six of their last seven opponents.
The Cardinals have won seven straight games since their 2-1 loss to the Gators on Oct. 5. They have outscored their opponents 16-1 in that stretch.
NO. 7 ELMIRA 2, NO. 2 NAZARETH 1
The defending E8 Champion Soaring Eagles netted back-to-back goals from Jose Navea Corporan in the 65th minute less than 40 seconds apart. Elmira improved to 6-8-4 on the season, while Nazareth dropped to 10-4-4.
With Nazareth up 1-0, a hand ball in the box led to a penalty kick that was converted by Corporan to tie the game. Shortly after, Corporan saw the ball drop to him on a corner kick and fired it in for the game-winning goal.
The shots were even in the first with eight to each team and four corners to Nazareth, while the Soaring Eagles had three.
In the 22nd minute, the Golden Flyers made good on a corner kick.
Drew Decker served in an in-swinging ball that was headed on the back post by Fitzgerald for his fourth goal of the season. Decker ends his illustrious career as the all-time assists leader at Nazareth with 38.
NO. 6 HARTWICK 1, NO. 3 SUNY GENESEO 1 (HARTWICK ADVANCES ON PK’S, 6-5)
Hartwick and Geneseo played to a 1-1 draw after 90 minutes of regulation and 20 more minutes of overtime before advancing, 6-5 in a penalty kick shootout. Hartwick earned its first draw of the season, moving to 9-7-1, while Geneseo is now 8-5-5.
Carraig Jones got the Knights on the board just 8:53 into the contest off a feed from Stefen Nikolic.
After connecting a string of passes, defender
Joseph Allen (Clifton Park, N.Y.) sent in a brilliant cross into the box from the right wing.
Hunter Bulich (Catskill, N.Y.) was able to rise above heavy traffic and head the ball into the left side of the netting to equalize tie the game in the 64th minute.
Hartwick dominated the first ten minutes of overtime, outshooting Geneseo four shots to none but could not find the back of the net as Jake Daly's shot hit the crossbar and
Nick Nowak's (Shoreham, N.Y.) attempt off the rebound was saved in the 99th minute.
In the penalty kicks, both teams converted on their first five attempts before a Geneseo shot was fired over the cage. Needing a score to advance,
Jace Riegel (Owego, N.Y.) punched the Hawks a ticket to the Empire 8 Semifinals, lacing his penalty kick inside the post.
NO. 5 SUNY BROCKPORT 3, NO. 4 SUNY POLY 0
The Golden Eagles offense exploded in the second half, posting three goals to defeat SUNY Poly, 3-0. Brockport improved to 7-6-4 with the win, while Poly dropped to 10-4-4.
The two defenses would control the first half, with just one shot on goal combined in the first 45 minutes. Despite Poly outshooting Brockport 9-3 in the first half, the Golden Eagles would post the only shot on net in the first.
The first shot of the second half would serve as the game-winner for the Green and Gold. Just 4:40 into the second half,
Mauricio Leiva would change the game with his first of the season, putting Brockport up 1-0.
Holding tight to a 1-0 lead with less than 15 minutes remaining,
Brady Reinagel would leave his mark on the contest. Reinagel would net back-to-back goals just 2:11 apart to secure Brockport's spot in the semifinals.
Andrew Taylor picked up another shutout, saving the lone shot he faced in 90 minutes of action.
Russ Domm,
Juliuz Kemp, and
Max Voyer each chipped in with an assist, combining for four shots.
2024 Empire 8 Men's Soccer Championship Schedule
Saturday, November 2 – Quarterfinals
No. 1 St. John Fisher defeated No. 8 Russell Sage, 1-0 – BOX SCORE
No. 5 SUNY Brockport defeated No. 4 SUNY Poly, 3-0 – BOX SCORE
No. 6 Hartwick draws No. 3 SUNY Geneseo, 1-1 (Hartwick advances on PK's 6-5) – BOX SCORE
No. 7 Elmira defeated No. 2 Nazareth, 2-1 – BOX SCORE
Wednesday, November 6 - Semifinals
No. 5 SUNY Brockport at No. 1 St. John Fisher – 7 p.m. – VIDEO/LIVE STATS
No. 7 Elmira at No. 6 Hartwick – 6:30 p.m. – VIDEO/LIVE STATS
Saturday, November 9 - Championship Final
Winner of Semifinal 1 vs. Winner of Semifinal 2 -– TBA (at highest remaining seed) – VIDEO/LIVE STATS
ABOUT THE EMPIRE 8 CONFERENCE
The members of the Empire 8 Conference are committed first and foremost to the pursuit of academic excellence and the league is regarded as an outstanding NCAA Division III conference. The membership has distinguished itself among its peer group for its quality institutions, spirited and sportsmanlike competition, outstanding services and highly ethical policies and practices. Its commitment to serve the educational needs of its student-athletes is the hallmark of the E8. For more on the Empire 8 visit
www.empire8.com.
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