ROCHESTER, NY – A Saturday evening contest pitted the 2019 Empire 8 regular season titlists against their postseason counterparts, and after some extra time this matchup went the way of the regular season winners. Host St. John Fisher got past defending champion Hartwick, 3-2 in overtime, on a Bre Socker tally. The win bumps the Cardinals up to 2-0 on the season, while the Hawks are now 1-1.
Fisher handily controlled the first quarter, outshooting Hartwick 6-0, but could not convert that shot advantage into one on the scoreboard. Just over three minutes into the second, freshman Holly Calore (Rocky Point, NY/Rocky Point) picked up her first collegiate goal on a feed from Sydney Gagnon (Chestertown, NY/North Warren Central) at 28:06. The scoreboard read 1-0 to the visitors the teams headed into the locker room.
It took just two-and-a-half minutes into the second half for the Cardinals to equalize, when Alyssa Andres scored off an assist from Ashley Wightman. The Hawks regained the lead at 42:21 on Calore's second of the day (assisted by Emily Strutt (Pleasant Valley, NY/Arlington)), but just twenty seconds later Wightman knotted it up by doing some scoring of her own, thanks in part to a Socker assist. A scoreless fourth quarter that saw just one shot for either team (by Hartwick) gave way to an overtime. Socker's winner came 2:29 into the extra period, with the helper going to Allison Bartlett.
Calore's first two collegiate goals came on her only two shots, as she was the only Hawk to register multiple shots on the day. Gagnon, Leah Tolley (Pittsford, NY/Pittsford Mendon), Julie Ruzzi (High Falls, NY/Rondout Valley), Val Palmeri (Endwell, NY/Maine Endwell) all registered a shot apiece in the game's sixty minutes, as well. Allyson Osborne (Nottingham, PA/Solanco) did her part in net, making ten saves on 13 shots throughout 62:29 in net.
Fisher outshot the Hawks by a large margin, 20-6, including a 13-5 lead in shots on goal. They also had a narrow advantage in corners, at 8-6.
Today was the start of a sprint to the finish for the Hawks, as they have three games in nine days to end the regular season. They have their home opener against Utica next, on Thursday, April 8 at 4 p.m.
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