ONEONTA, N.Y. – The second-seeded Hartwick College field hockey team punched its ticket to the Empire 8 Championship game Wednesday afternoon, earning a 3-1 victory over third-seeded Brockport in the conference tournament semifinals at Wright Stadium.
The Hawks return to the championship game after missing last season and will look for their seventh championship in program history and fourth under head coach
Erin Autera. Since the playoff expansion to six teams in 2022, Hartwick has been to the championship game in all but one season.
Senior
Hope Angioletti (Hopewell Junction, N.Y./John Jay) led the Hawks with two goals, including the game-winning tally, while junior
Kayla Kinkel (Hopewell Junction, N.Y./John Jay) added the game-sealing goal. Senior
Katelyn Klotz (South Glens Falls, N.Y./South Glens Falls) also recorded an assist in the victory.
Hartwick held a 21-7 advantage in shots and put 14 attempts on target, compared to three for Brockport. The Hawks also earned five penalty corners, while the Golden Eagles had five. Junior
Ava Reynolds (South Glens Falls, N.Y./South Glens Falls) made two saves in goal for Hartwick to earn the win.
With the win, Hartwick improves to 12-5 overall and advances to the Empire 8 Championship game. The Hawks will face either fifth-seeded St. John Fisher or top-seeded Geneseo, pending the result of Wednesday's other semifinal.
The Hawks struck first at 3:55 in the opening quarter when Angioletti found the back of the net to give Hartwick an early 1-0 lead. The senior tallied the score after briefly having the ball taken away but recovered to get a shot from just behind the penalty spot and powered it by the Golden Eagles goalkeeper.
The advantage held through the first half as the Hawks carried their 1-0 lead into the break.
Brockport evened the score at 1-1 at 31:41 in the third quarter on a goal from Sophia Jones, but Hartwick quickly responded. Angioletti scored her second goal of the afternoon at 35:13 to put the Hawks back in front, 2-1. The senior took a restart quickly off the spot and ripped a shot from just inside the shooting circle into the back of the cage for her second goal of the game and 15
th of the season.
Hartwick added some insurance late in the third when Kinkel converted a penalty corner at 44:41, finishing a feed from Klotz to extend the lead to 3-1. The junior was waiting on the doorstep for the pass from Klotz and deposited the shot home.
The Hawks' defense held Brockport off the scoreboard, sealing the win for Hartwick.
