PITTSFORD, N.Y. -- Visiting Nazareth saw its nine-game winning streak snapped Wednesday evening at St. John Fisher, but the Golden Flyers remained in control of their post-season destiny as they battled to a 1-1 tie with the Cardinals.
The Golden Flyers are still unbeaten (9-0-1) in their last 10 contests as they remain in first place in the Empire 8 Conference standings with a 10-1-2 overall record that includes a 5-0-1 mark in the E8. Houghton, a 3-2 winner over Alfred Wednesday, remains close behind in the E8 standings with a 5-1 conference record. The top five teams qualify for next month's Empire 8 Conference Tournament, which includes a play-in game Nov. 1 between the fourth and fifth seeds. The semifinals are Nov. 3 and the championship game is Nov. 6.
Houghton and Nazareth square off next Wednesday in Nazareth's final regular-season match at 3 p.m. Before that, Nazareth plays at Hartwick Saturday at 3 p.m. Fisher is 3-6-3 overall and 2-2-1 in the E8. The Cardinals are in the hunt for a playoff berth with three conference games remaining. Nazareth clinched a playoff spot and is the front runner to gain the No. 1 seed for next month's E8 Tournament.
On Wednesday at Fisher's Growney Stadium, Nazareth scored in the sixth minute and proved resilient until the the 77th minute when Fisher tied the score. The teams then battled through a pair of 10-minute overtime periods with no scoring change.
Nazareth's goal came after
Cooper LaValley stole the ball from a Fisher defender and dribbled up the right wing. His crossing pass landed on the foot of
Jake Pawlika, who buried a shot for his team-leading 10th goal of the season.
Scoring chances were few and far between thereafter and Nazareth yielded the tying goal with less than 14 minutes remaining.
Nazareth managed one shot in the first overtime, none in the second. The Golden Flyers had two of their for corner kicks in overtime. Fisher had a 19-10 edge in shots overall. Each goalkeeper made five saves --
Logan Menna for Nazareth and Jordan Schlierf for Fisher.
