ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The Hartwick College field hockey team secured a 3-1 Empire 8 victory over St. John Fisher University Saturday afternoon, clinching the No. 2 seed in the Empire 8 Conference Tournament. With the win, the Hawks earned a bye through the quarterfinal round and will host a semifinal game on Wednesday, Nov. 4.
Senior
Katelyn Klotz (South Glens Falls, N.Y./South Glens Falls) scored twice to lead Hartwick, while sophomore
Lexi Cheeseman (Owego, N.Y./Owego Free Academy) added the first goal of the game. Senior
Hope Angioletti (Hopewell Junction, N.Y./John Jay) recorded an assist on Klotz's second goal.
Junior
Ava Reynolds (South Glens Falls, N.Y./South Glens Falls) made five saves in goal for the Hawks to earn her eighth win of the season, allowing one goal across 60 minutes of action.
Hartwick outshot St. John Fisher 14-9 and held a 12-6 advantage in shots on goal. The Hawks also earned 11 penalty corners compared to six for the Cardinals.
The win improves Hartwick to 10-5 overall and 7-1 in Empire 8 play, while St. John Fisher falls to 7-9 and 4-4 in league action. The Hawks next host Utica at home, for their regular season finale on Wednesday, Oct. 28 at 4 p.m.
After a scoreless first half, Hartwick broke through in the third quarter. At 35:31,
Lexi Cheeseman gave the Hawks the lead with an unassisted goal after dispossessing a St. John Fisher defender attempting to move the ball upfield. Cheeseman won the race to the goal and slipped a shot beneath the diving goalkeeper to put Hartwick ahead, 1-0.
Klotz converted a penalty stroke at 39:38 to extend Hartwick's lead to 2-0, but St. John Fisher cut the deficit to one at 51:24. Klotz answered just over a minute later, finishing a pass from Angioletti with a shot from the top left of the shooting circle to seal the Hawks' 3-1 victory.
