ONEONTA, NY – A fairly even game overall saw two bursts of energy from the home side, as the Hartwick women's soccer team picked off visiting St. John Fisher by a 2-0 margin on Saturday. The win improves the Hawks' record to 3-1-3 overall and 1-0-1 in conference, while the Cardinals are now 4-3-0 overall and 0-1-0 in E8 play.
Hartwick opened the scoring in the 38th minute on Rory Richard's (Barneveld, NY/Holland Patent) second of the season. Madi McGuire (Goshen, NY/Goshen) sent a long ball over the top which Richard found and kept away from the Fisher back. She held off another defender before slotting one past the keeper and to the lower right corner for the 1-0 lead. There was some complaining from the Cardinals bench about an uncalled foul on Richard, but the goal remained on the board.
St. John Fisher earned a corner with under two minutes remaining in the half, and a loose ball in the box made for a few fraught seconds for the Hawks. Ultimately, the ball was cleared away and the score remained 1-0 to 'Wick at the break.
Perhaps the Cardinals' best chance to equalize in the second half came in the 64th minute, again off a corner. The ball was cleared out of the front of the goal but came to Jessica Aldred who had some room on the short side before pulling it wide for a goal kick.
Hartwick sealed the deal on a special goal in the 81st minute. Gianna Cacciola (Wading River, NY/Shoreham Wading River) was sent down the left side and crossed a ball into the box where it found a waiting Luisa Andrade (São Paulo, Brazil/The Pennington School). Andrade deftly maneuvered her right foot and redirected the ball on the volley up and over the keeper for the all-important insurance tally, which was also the first of her Hartwick career.
Sara Staup (Woodinville, WA/Woodinville) played all 90 minutes in net, making five saves for her second straight clean sheet and fourth shutout of the season.
'Wick now takes a midseason pause, as they will rest up for the home stretch, beginning with a midweek battle on the Elmore turf on Wednesday, October 6 vs. Skidmore. Kickoff is slated for 6 p.m.
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