ROCHESTER, NY – A Sydney Gagnon (Chestertown, NY/North Warren Central) and Allyson Quirk (Longmeadow, MA/Longmeadow) two-on-none chance helped cut the Hawks deficit to one in the third quarter, but it was not quite enough on Saturday afternoon in Rochester, as the Hartwick field hockey team dropped a close Empire 8 matchup to St. John Fisher, 3-1. The Hawks have now lost their last three, and drop to 6-4 (1-1 E8). The Cardinals, who received votes in the last National Field Hockey Coaches Association poll, lift themselves to 7-2 (2-0 E8).
The first quarter went by fairly quietly overall, with St. John Fisher getting the better of play overall. A Jess Snyder corner early in the fourth minute led to a Bre Socker shot that was blocked. Hartwick goalie Allyson Osborne (Nottingham, PA/Solanco) made a pair of saves later in the period, and Gagnon sent one wide with under three minutes to go in the quarter for 'Wick's first shot of the game.
Lindsay Scott had the first shot of the second quarter, saved by Osborne, 32 seconds in, but it was Snyder who found the back of the net 40 seconds later at 16:12, assisted by Scott. The two Cardinals came in two-on-one and Snyder took Scott's pass to the lower right side for the opening tally. The hosts dominated the rest of the half, registering eight shots and four corners before Alyssa Andres made it 2-0 at 25:56. Snyder took a corner, leading to a Socker shot that Andres found the rebound of and buried it into the cage. Fisher led at the break, 2-0.
Hartwick found some hope midway through the third, as Gagnon tied the team-high with her fifth goal at 38:35. Quirk and Gagnon found themselves all alone with just the goalie in between them and the back of the cage, and did not let the opportunity go to waste. Gagnon slid the ball to the lower right corner of the net to make it a one-goal game. The Hawks had a couple corners and another Gagnon shot (which went high) later in the period, but were forced to settle for just the one in the third.
Socker had the first three scoring attempts of the final quarter, but it was the fourth shot that regained the two-goal lead. She was all alone with Osborne, and beat her on the right side at 50:37, with an assist to Scott. The Hawks' best chance for another tally came with 2:20 left, but Gagnon's try was challenged and smothered by Fisher goalkeeper Kelly Bergamo.
Gagnon had five of Hartwick's six shots, putting three on target, including the goal. Gina Cozetti (Commack, NY/Commack) had the other shot, and Quirk had the helper on Gagnon's goal. Osborne was extremely busy in the cage, making a career-high 15 saves on 18 shots through 60 minutes.
Socker and Scott were dominant all day for the home side. Socker had a game-high nine shots, six on target, and the goal. Scott had seven shots, all on goal, and two assists. Reghan Amoroso registered three shots for the Cardinals, and Andres and Snyder both had goals on their lone shots. Bergamo earned the win with two saves on three chances.
St. John Fisher dominated the shot count, leading 23-6 (19-3 on goal). They also had a healthy corner advantage, at 12-4.
Hartwick looks to rebound this coming Wednesday, October 9, when they travel to Aurora, NY for a battle with Wells at 4 p.m.
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