ONEONTA, NY – (some information taken from Nazareth Sports Information) The Hartwick field hockey team ran through host Nazareth on Saturday, outshooting the Golden Flyers 35-1 in a 4-0 victory. The win moves the Hawks to 10-4 overall and 6-1 in the Empire 8, and also clinches them both a spot in the Empire 8 Tournament and the second seed in that tournament. They will host third seed Utica on Tuesday, November 2 in the Empire 8 Semifinals. Nazareth drops to 5-10 overall and 4-3 in conference, but would still secure the fourth seed in the Empire 8 Tournament with a win in a winner-take-all game next Saturday at Washington and Jefferson.
The Hawks got right to it in the first quarter, outshooting their hosts 8-0. Lex Matarazzo (Commack, NY/Commack) cracked the ice in the sixth minute, scoring on a hard shot from the edge of the circle. Nine more shots in the second period led to one more goal, as Sydney Gagnon (Chestertown, NY/North Warren Central) put home the rebound of a Julie Ruzzi (High Falls, NY/Rondout Valley) shot for the 2-0 lead in the 26th minute.
Gagnon added another in the fourth minute of the second half, as after her initial shot was stopped, she flipped one from close range into the corner of the cage for the 3-0 lead. The day's scoring was finished in the 58th minute on a Ruzzi penalty stroke goal. The stroke was awarded after Nazareth keeper Amanda Chuttey used the back of her stick to make a diving stop on an Ashley Tricarico (Hopewell Junction, NY/John Jay) shot.
Quite a few Hawks put up a plethora of shots on the day, led by Gagnon and Holly Calore's (Rocky Point, NY/Rocky Point) seven. The mark is a career high for Calore. Matarazzo also had a career high in shots, with six, while Ruzzi had five cracks at the net. Madison Maddocks (Garrison, NY/Walter Panas) played all 60 minutes in net and was not needed for too much but earned her first career shutout nonetheless.
'Wick returns to action next Thursday in a non-conference matchup, taking on Morrisville on the road at 7 p.m.
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