Women's Soccer | 10/31/2026 9:34:19 PM
Top four seeds St. John Fisher University, Nazareth University, Houghton University and SUNY Geneseo advanced to the 2026 Empire 8 Championship Tournament Semifinal round after advancing in quarterfinal action on Saturday, Oct. 31. Top-seed St. John Fisher defeated No. 8 Elmira College, 2-0, while No. 2 Nazareth defeated No. 7 Utica University, 2-0. No. 3 Houghton rallied to defeat No. 6 Hartwick College, 2-1 in overtime, while No. 4 Geneseo recorded a 3-1 win over No. 5 SUNY Brockport.
No. 2 Nazareth and No. 3 Houghton will meet in the first semifinal, at 10 a.m. while No. 1 St. John Fisher and No. 4 Geneseo will face off in the second Empire 8 Semifinal on Wednesday, Nov. 4 at 6 p.m.
Geneseo and Fisher meet for the second time in less than two weeks, as the Knights handed the Cardinals their only league loss of the season, 2-1 from Growney Stadium on Oct. 24. Nazareth earned a 3-1 home win over Houghton on Oct. 7.
The two semifinal winners will meet for the 2026 Empire 8 Championship on Saturday, Nov. 7 at a time to be determined at the highest remaining seed. The league champion receives an automatic berth into the 2026 NCAA Division III Women’s Soccer Championship, which begins with first and second round action the weekend of Nov. 13-15.
NO. 1 ST. JOHN FISHER 2, NO. 8 ELMIRA 0
The No. 1-seeded St. John Fisher women's soccer team began its quest for a second straight Empire 8 Conference title with a 2-0 victory over No. 8-seeded Elmira in the first round of the E8 postseason tournament on Saturday night at Growney Stadium. The Cardinals improved to 15-2 and matched the 1982 Cardinals for most wins in program history, while Elmira had its season end with a 5-12-1 mark.
After somewhat of a slow start in the way of quality scoring chances, the Cardinals broke through in the 41st minute. Sophomore defender
Brooklyn Olschewske's corner kick went straight to freshman defender
Makayla Land, who headed the ball past Elmira goalkeeper Sarah Cantrell for her first collegiate goal.
The Cardinals finished the first half with a 3-1 edge in shots and had only one other true scoring opportunity before Land's tally. In the ninth minute, sophomore midfielder Morgan Tara drilled the crossbar from about 25 yards out, and junior forward Olivia Kalil appeared to score on the rebound. However, an infraction against St. John Fisher nullified the goal.
St. John Fisher clung to a one-goal advantage until the 76th minute, when junior forward Emily Woolingham finished a feed from freshman forward Jillyan Ewing to give the Cardinals some breathing room down the stretch.
Cardinals sophomore goalkeeper Isabella Ayers made two saves in each half. The first of Elmira's three second-half shots, attempted by Anna Chunco in the 58th minute, clanked off the crossbar. Ayers recorded her eighth shutout of the season.
Woolingham now has 17 goals and 40 points on the season. Woolingham moved into a tie with Mary Cooper (197) and Marianne Laurine (1981) for second on Fisher's single-season goals list. Woolingham is the first Cardinal to reach 40 points in a season since Laurine tallied 45 in 1981. Her 40 points mark the third-most by a Cardinal in a season.
NO. 2 NAZARETH 2, NO. 7 UTICA 0
The second seeded Nazareth turned it on in the second half to defeat No. 7 Utica 2-0 on Saturday in the Empire 8 Quarterfinals.
Savanna Biehler and
Mikayla Perez scored for Nazareth. With the win, Nazareth advances to the Empire 8 Semifinals and will host No. 3 Houghton (11-5-2) on Wednesday. Nazareth moves to 11-3-3 overall, while Utica ends the season 6-7-6.
Both teams generated dangerous opportunities in the first half but the score remained locked at 0-0.
Katriana Walls had a huge save off a corner kick at the 17 minute mark, stopping a shot with her foot. About a minute later Nazareth had its best chance of the half as Biehler got loose in front of the defense but had her shot blocked by the defender at the last second. Utica had a dangerous corner near the three minute mark that was saved off the line before a secondary shot was skyed of the net up close.
Nazareth was able to break through in the 53rd minute on Biehler's 13th goal of the season.
Morgan Szeflinski crossed it to Giulianna Rodriguez who fired a shot from 22-yards out that Biehler flicked in from 3-yards out.
The Purple and Gold kept up the pressure and found the back of the net again at the 62
nd minute off the foot of Perez. Perez headed a pass from
Mary Kate Rewakowski towards Biehler who was streaking down the left side. Perez then bolted towards the 18-yard box and rifled a shot past the goalie to make it 2-0.
Walls notched her sixth shutout of the season, making six saves.
Nazareth advances to the Empire 8 semifinals for the eighth straight season.
NO. 3 HOUGHTON 2, NO. 6 HARTWICK 1
Houghton women's soccer earned its first-ever Empire 8 Tournament victory Saturday, rallying for a 2-1 overtime win over Hartwick in the first round at Burke Field. The Highlanders improved to 11-5-2 overall, while Hartwick had its season end with a 5-8-4 mark.
The No. 3 seeded Highlanders, making their sixth appearance in the conference tournament, overcame a 1-0 halftime deficit to advance to the semifinals for the first time in program history.
Hartwick, seeded sixth, took the lead in the 37th minute when Lily Dempsey scored off an assist from Elizabeth Burke.
Houghton found the equalizer in the 83rd minute.
Elena Esh set up
Leah Jackson, who scored her first goal of the season to bring the Highlanders even at 1-1.
The teams remained tied through the end of regulation, sending the match to overtime. Houghton secured the victory in the 94th minute when a looping pass into the box deflected off the Hartwick goalkeeper.
Hope Russell followed the play and finished near the post for the game-winner, her 10th goal of the season.
Sophia Templeton was credited with the assist.
Olivia Short made six saves in goal for Houghton. The Highlanders finished with six shots, five on target, while Hartwick recorded 10 shots, including seven on goal.
NO. 4 SUNY GENESEO 3, NO. 5 SUNY BROCKPORT 2
The SUNY Geneseo women's soccer team advanced to the Empire 8 semifinals with a 3-2 victory over Brockport. After falling behind early, the Knights rallied with three unanswered goals to secure the win and advance to the next round of postseason play. Geneseo improves to 10-4-3 overall, while Brockport had its season end with an 11-4-4 mark.
Brockport struck first in the 19th minute on a goal by Alana Yahoudy, taking a 1-0 lead against the Knights. Geneseo responded late in the first half as
Ella Yartym found the back of the net in the 39th minute, finishing a pass from
Ashley Pawelczyk to even the score at 1-1 heading into halftime.
Geneseo carried the momentum into the second half, taking its first lead of the afternoon in the 57th minute.
Kate Pinto connected with a pass from
Carly Chupick and buried the opportunity to put the Knights ahead, 2-1.
The Knights continued to apply pressure, adding an insurance goal in the 66th minute.
Aicha Cisse finished off another assist from Chupick to extend the Geneseo advantage to 3-1.
Brockport added a late goal by Amelia Breton, her 16th of the season, in the 85th minute, but the Knights held strong defensively down the stretch to secure the 3-2 quarterfinal victory.
2026 Empire 8 Women's Soccer Championship Tournament Schedule
Saturday, October 31 – First Round (at Higher Seed)
No. 1 St. John Fisher University defeated No. 8 Elmira College, 2-0 – BOX SCORE
No. 2 Nazareth University defeated No. 7 Utica University, 2-0 – BOX SCORE
No. 3 Houghton University defeated No. 6 Hartwick College, 2-1 (OT) – BOX SCORE
No. 4 SUNY Geneseo defeated No. 5 SUNY Brockport, 3-2 – BOX SCORE
Wednesday, November 4 – Semifinals (at Higher Seed)
No. 4 SUNY Geneseo at No. 1 St. John Fisher – 6 p.m. – VIDEO/LIVE STATS
No. 3 Houghton University at No. 2 Nazareth University – 10 a.m. – VIDEO/LIVE STATS
Saturday, November 7 - Championship Final (at Highest Remaining Seed)
Winner of Semifinal No. 1 vs. Winner of Semifinal No. 2 – TBA – VIDEO/LIVE STATS