ONEONTA, N.Y. – Second-seeded Hartwick scored three first-half goals to claim a 3-0 win over Houghton in the Empire 8 Tournament Semifinals on Friday in Oneonta.

The No. 3 seed Highlanders, playing in their second Empire 8 Tournament (2017), were unable to find much offense against the defending E8 champion Hawks through most of the contest.

Hartwick got the only goal they would need just four minutes into the contest off a corner. The initial shot was saved by Sofia Gildemeister, but a Hawks player was there to knock in the rebound. The other goals came in the 18th and 30th minutes.

The Houghton defense made it more difficult for the Hawks to produce scoring chances in the second half, limiting them to no shots in the third quarter and just four in the fourth. Offensively, the Highlanders did not record any shots in the first half, but were able to send five toward net in the final 30 minutes. Their best chances came as time was running down late. The visiting Highlanders produced three penalty and three shots in the final minute of play. One shot was blocked, one was saved by a defender and another was saved by the Hawks keeper.

Hartwick will play St. John Fisher for the E8 title on Sunday. The No. 1 Cardinals beat No. 5 Nazareth 6-0 in Friday's other semifinal.

Houghton finishes the season with a record of 2-4.

 
GAME VITALS
Score: No. 3 Houghton – 0 | No. 2 Hartwick - 3
Records: Houghton: 2-4 | Hartwick: 4-1
Venue: Oneonta, N.Y. | Wright Stadium | Attendance: 75

SCORING SUMMARY

3:48		Leah Tolley
17:36		Leah Tolley Assisted By: Emily Strutt
29:16		Tegan Robinson Assisted By: Sydney Gagnon

NOTABLE STATS
>> Final shots were 17-5 in favor of the Hawks, including an 11-3 edge in shots on goal
>> Gildemeister made 8 saves in the cage
>> The Hawks had an 11-5 advantage in penalty corners
>> Caitlin Jennings and Leanne Plunkett each tallied 2 shots with each putting 1 on net. Zoey Kasper had the 3rd Houghton shot on goal
>> The loss puts Houghton's all-time E8 Tournament record at 0-2