HOUGHTON, NY – The St. John Fisher Cardinals overcame an early one-goal deficit, scoring two goals within a minute, then adding another less than four minutes later to defeat the Houghton Highlanders, 3-1 in both teams' Empire 8 regular season finale.
The Highlanders scored a beautiful opening goal in the 12
th minute off a corner, when
Deborah Cross ripped a sharp pass from near the circle and
Cate Westenberger hit a one-timer into the back of the goal.
Houghton maintained their one goal advantage for nearly 15 minutes, but Molly Fisher and Sam Choate scored a pair of unassisted goals less than a minute apart to give the Cardinals a 2-1 lead at the half.
Only 1:34 into the third period, St. John Fisher struck again, as Fisher collected her second goal of the day on a pass from Audrey Grieb.
While the Highlanders continued to create chances throughout the remaining minutes they would draw no closer.
With the win, St. John Fisher completed an undefeated conference slate, earning the number one seed, and home field advantage, throughout the conference tournament.
Houghton will be the number three seed and will face number two, Hartwick, on Thursday, November 2
nd at a time to be determined.
GAME VITALS
Score: Houghton – 1 | St. John Fisher – 3
Records: Houghton: 11-5 (5-2 Empire 8) | St. John Fisher: 10-7 (7-0 Empire 8)
Venue: Burke Field, Houghton University | Attendance: 100
SCORING SUMMARY
Scoring Summary
Time |
Team |
Description |
11:40 |
 |
Cate Westenberger (6)
Assisted By: Deborah Cross |
26:25 |
 |
Molly Fisher |
27:04 |
 |
Sam Choate |
31:34 |
 |
Molly Fisher
Assisted By: Audrey Grieb |
NOTABLE STATS
>> St. John Fisher maintained a 14-9 advantage in shots, and a 13-9 advantage in penalty corners.
>> Westenberger's goal was her sixth of the season, while Cross posted her sixth assist of the year.
>>
Annika Galen made eight saves for the Highlanders.
UP NEXT
The Highlanders will travel to Oneonta to take on the #2 Hartwick Hawks in the semifinal round of the Empire 8 conference tournament on Thursday, November 2
nd at a time yet to be determined. The Hawks defeated the Highlanders during the regular season, 3-1.