ONEONTA, NY – Playing postseason games has become an expectation for Hartwick women's soccer, as they have now made the Empire 8 Tournament four years in a row. Following a heartbreaking loss in penalty kicks to Utica in the Semifinals last year, the Hawks are looking for their second ever conference title in 2019. It all begins on Wednesday, November 6 on historic Elmore Field against Nazareth College.
Ticket prices for the game are $6 for adults, $4 for students (free with College ID thanks to the Student Government Association), $4 for seniors with ID, and free for children 12 and under.
Hartwick once again began their season strong. They won the season's first two games for a share of their sixth-consecutive Brozman Cup, and held a 4-2 record heading into conference play. They began their Empire 8 slate with a scoreless draw at home against St. John Fisher, a result that wound up foreshadowing the rest of their league schedule. Five of their seven Empire 8 games contained one or fewer goals; one of the remaining two had two goals, and the outlier was a 2-2 tie at Alfred. The Hawks headed into the season's final game, Senior Day vs. Sage, knowing a win would secure home-field advantage in at least the first round of the playoffs. It took them more than 90 minutes, but they got the job done, when Dana Caputo (Commack, NY/Commack) served up a beautiful corner and Maggie Rogers (Wharton, NJ/Morris Hills) sent it across the goal line for a 94th minute overtime winner. Hartwick finished undefeated in the conference for the first time in program history, at 4-0-3, and also have achieved double-digit wins for the fifth time in six seasons.
The centerpiece of this Hartwick team is their back line, as they allowed just two goals in seven conference games this season, fewest of any team (their opponent in the Semifinal, Nazareth, allowed three). A cast of Caputo, Courtney Velho (Derry, NH/Pinkerton Academy), Katie Weaver (Baldwinsville, NY/C.W. Baker), Isabella Toro (Monroe, NY/Monroe Woodbury), Gina Fahrenholz (Scotch Plains, NJ/Scotch Plains Fanwood), and Arianna Alvarez (Center Moriches, NY/Center Moriches) have eaten up the majority of minutes on defense for the Hawks. If anything got behind that group, goalkeeper Cassandra Robataille (Amsterdam, NY/Amsterdam) was there to keep the back of the net undisturbed. She played every minute of all seven of Hartwick's conference games, allowing just two goals for a .259 goals against average (GAA) on a .929 save percentage. She led the conference with six shutouts, and has 11 overall, a career high.
Offensively, the Hawks have done just enough to keep the wins coming. They scored just seven goals in conference games, which was seventh overall, but managed to wind up undefeated in the Empire 8 nonetheless thanks to their sparkling defensive efforts. Tanner Reed (Unadilla, NY/Unatego Central) and Gabrielle Kreppein (Glens Falls/South Glens Falls) led 'Wick's offense this season. Reed had six goals (including four game-winners) and 14 points overall to pace the team, and two goals and an assist in conference games. Kreppein was the only other Hawk with double-digits in points, registering 11 on four goals and three assists. She had two goals in Empire 8 games, including the winner in a 1-0 win over Elmira. Kreppein has also been the Hawks' most prolific shot launcher, with 28 in seven conference games, third in the conference.
Like Hartwick, Nazareth held a 4-2 record headed into play. This included a 2-1, double-overtime win against St. Lawrence in their home opener. They drew Alfred 1-1 in their Empire 8 opener, but that would be the last conference goal they gave up for a while, as they put up clean sheets the next five times out in league play. One of those contests was a scoreless draw between two first-place sides, at Hartwick on October 19. The Golden Flyers were poised to grab the outright regular season title and home-field advantage through the Empire 8 playoffs headed into their last regular season game against rival St. John Fisher. A tie likely would have gotten them there, and with the two teams locked at one goal each late in regulation, it seemed like that might just happen. Fisher broke through, however, on Megan Letta's goal in the 87th minute, and Nazareth ended up in third place.
Also like Hartwick, the Golden Flyers, ranked ninth in the East Region according to United Soccer Coaches, have a stout defense. They allowed just one more goal than the Hawks, at three in seven conference games. Any balls that got past the Nazareth back line were overwhelmingly more often than not stopped by goalkeeper Hannah Miller, a 2018 second-team All-American according to d3soccer.com. Between Miller and Robataille, this game likely features the conference's two best goalies for the 2019 season. Miller has played all but 42:37 in net this year, only sitting out the end of Nazareth's 6-0 rout of Elmira in late September. She is just behind Robataille in the conference rankings with a .430 GAA, .909 save percentage, and four shutouts.
Offensively, McKayla Hughes has been the leading Golden Flyer. She earned 14 points overall, via six goals and two assists, double the total of any of her teammates. Four of those goals came in conference games, tied for third in the Empire 8. Four other Nazareth players (Ashley Plane, Caleigh Cahoon, Megan McCraith, Amanda Rice) had three goals throughout the regular season, which helped boost the Golden Flyers to a tie for second in the conference in goals, at 12. Hughes has done her damage on just 14 shots, however, just eighth on the team. Plane leads with 40 shots, and Cahoon is not far behind at 34.
As mentioned previously, these two teams have played once this season, a scoreless draw on October 19 when each team was tied for first in the conference. Both goalkeepers were strong when the rare quality shot got to them, as Robataille made seven saves and Miller six for dueling clean sheets. Nazareth nearly won it in overtime, but Robataille made back-to-back saves during a frantic sequence, and came even closer in double-overtime, but a McCraith shot from about ten yards out rang off the right post.
This is Hartwick's fifth appearance in the Empire 8 Tournament. The Hawks are in a golden age of their conference membership, as they have now made the playoffs four straight years. They were dropped in the semifinals in 2016 and 2018 by #9 Stevens and Utica, respectively. In 2017, they earned the program's first ever conference title, sharing it with #16 Stevens in a scoreless draw on Elmore Field. The Ducks ended up earning the automatic berth into the NCAA playoffs, however, as they won the penalty shootout, 3-2.
Nazareth has a much more prolific Empire 8 Tournament history than Hartwick. They were outright champions in the conference's first three years, from 1999-2001, and then shared it with Ithaca the next four years before re-claiming the outright title in 2006. After a five-year drought, the Golden Flyers and Bombers drew again in the finals in 2012, and tied once more in 2014. More recently, Nazareth has faltered in the conference playoffs, failing to advance out of the Semifinals from 2015-2017 and missing the playoffs altogether last season.
#2 Hartwick (11-3-3, 4-0-3 E8) and #3 Nazareth (9-5-2, 4-1-2 E8) will begin their battle on Wednesday, November 6 at Elmore Field. #1 St. John Fisher (7-6-3, 4-0-3 E8) and #4 Utica (10-5-1, 3-3-1 E8) will play at the same time in St. John Fisher's Growney Stadium, with the winners of each game meeting in the Championship on Saturday, November 9 at the field of the highest-remaining seed.
Live stats for the Semifinal at Hartwick can be found here, and the live video stream can be found here.
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