ROCHESTER, NY –  A season of promise for the rejuvenated field hockey program came to a close on Monday as the fourth-seeded Golden Flyers fell 3-0 to No. 5 St. John Fisher in the Empire 8 Quarterfinals. The Cardinals will take on top-seeded Geneseo in the semifinals of the conference championships.
 
Nazareth finishes with its first winning season (9-8) since 2007 and the six conference wins during the regular season is the most-ever in program history.  The nine wins overall are most since 2019.
 
Nazareth had a great buildup 3:30 into the game as freshman Michaela Cushman got past the Fisher goalie but was taken down before she was able to get a shot off. Nazareth received a penalty corner but could not convert.
 
Lydia Coombs had a big defensive save six minutes into the second quarter to keep the score 0-0.
 
With five minutes remaining in the second quarter, the Golden Flyers cycled around a penalty corner to Hailey Dimao on the backside for a great attempt that was turned aside.
 
Shots were 8-2 in favor of Fisher at the half, however Nazareth had a 3-2 edge in penalty corners. 
 
In the third, the Golden Flyers had to defend a sequence of three consecutive corners, the second of which Sam Helmer made a defensive save on.
 
The Cardinals eventually made good on a penalty corner as Sydney Byrns blasted a shot from the point four minutes into the third.
 
Two minutes later, a tick-tack-toe passing effort by the Cardinals resulted in the second goal of the game.
 
Fisher added one more goal in the fourth to close out the scoring.
 
Mackenzie Halliday made 12 saves in net.