ROCHESTER, NY – Nazareth and East Avenue rival St. John Fisher played to a 1-1 draw on Saturday which proved to be good enough to help the Golden Flyers earn a spot in next week's Empire 8 Championships as the No. 5 seed. The Golden Flyers (7-4-5 overall, 2-2-5 Empire 8) finished the regular season with 11 points in a three-way tie with Hartwick (3-4-2 E8) and Houghton (3-4-2 E8). With all three vying for the fifth and sixth seeds, head-to-head matchups amongst the other two teams was the first tiebreaker. Nazareth was 1-0-1, Hartwick 1-1-0, and Houghton was 0-1-1.
As the No. 5 seed, Nazareth will travel to fourth-seeded Utica on Tuesday for a matchup in the Empire 8 Quarterfinals at 3:30 p.m. The Golden Flyers will look to avenge a 3-2 loss to the Pioneers on October 1.
It was Senior Day for the Golden Flyers, as Nazareth honored
Andrew Gengler,
Noah Malta,
Sam Smyth,
Cuneyt Vardar and
Andrew Vogler before the game.
Junior
Matt Bamford gave the Golden Flyers a 1-0 advantage in the 62
nd minute. After having a header attempt cleared off the line on a corner kick in the first half, Bamford made good on another header on a free kick from Smyth. Smyth played a ball from 25-yards out at the corner of the box and Bamford put a forceful header past the keeper.
That lead was short-lived as the Cardinals converted a corner kick on a header from Justin Bonetto at 63:16. That score held the rest of the game.
Nazareth had several quality chances in the first half, with six shots.
In the 10
th minute
Jake Pawlika found Vardar behind the defense and his breakaway shot was just pushed aside by Jadon Schlierf.
Nazareth had a near goal in the 18
th minute with Bamford having a header on a corner kick cleared off the line by a Cardinal defender.
Vardar had a header in the 29
th minute that required a difficult save.
Patrick Larkin got the start for the Golden Flyers, making nine saves.
For the game, Nazareth and St. John Fisher each finished with 13 shots.
Empire 8 Championships Bracket
First Round
Tuesday, Nov. 1
#6 Hartwick at #3 Russell Sage
#5 Nazareth at #4 Utica
Semifinals
Thursday, Nov. 3
Winner of Russell Sage/Hartwick at #2 Medaille
Winner of Utica/Nazareth at #1 St. John Fisher
Championship
Saturday, Nov. 5
Semifinal winner 1 vs. Semifinal winner 2 (at Highest remaining seed)
