Nazareth College Athletics

ROCHESTER, NY (nazatletics.com) – The second-seeded Nazareth women's soccer team erupted for five goals on Wednesday morning to down #3 Houghton 5-2 in the Empire 8 semifinals at Golden Flyer Stadium. Sophomore Giuliana Rodriguez had a career-high two goals and two assists in the win, while Shannon Sgombick, Aubrey Rizzo, and Brynn Furbeck each had a goal and an assist.

Nazareth advances to Saturday's Empire 8 Championship game, and will host #4 Geneseo at 12 p.m. for the Empire 8 title and an automatic berth to the NCAA Division III Tournament. Geneseo upset #1 St. John Fisher 3-1 on Wednesday night.

Nazareth moves to 12-3-3 overall, while Houghton drops to 11-6-2.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Nazareth had a phenomenal start to the game, scoring two goals in the first 8:35 and then another at the 18:05 mark
• The opening goal came from Sgombick. Rodriguez cut the ball back from the endline that Rizzo one-timed and Sgombick finished off
• Similar to Nazareth's first goal, the second goal came with cutting a pass back from the endline. Biehler played it back to the 8-yard box and Rodriguez buried it with the left foot on a one-time shot
• The momentum kept going in the 19^th minute, connecting a series of passes to make it 3-0. Sgombick found Rodriguez for a one-time pass and Rizzo was able to knee the ball in from 8-yards out
• Houghton got a goal back off a corner kick in the 29^th minute. It was 3-1 at the half
• Nazareth helped stave off some strong pressure from the Highlanders in the second half with an important goal coming from Rodriguez in the 69^th minute. Furbeck took a pass off the corner kick and launched a perfectly weight ball to Rodriguez for the header goal
• The score remained 4-1 until the 79^th minute when the Highlanders converted a penalty kick that was awarded due to a hand ball in the box
• The dynamic Nazareth offense found the net one more time in the 87^th minute when Camryn Schiavitti played a diagonal ball to Furbeck for a one-time shot into the net.

GAME NOTES:

• The four points for Rodriguez was a career-high 
• Nazareth has held opponents to just three goals in the last seven games dating back to October 14
• Furbeck added her fourth career goal and now has a career high 7 points this season (2G, 3A)
• The 2 points (1G, 1A) was a career-high for Rizzo 
• Katriana Walls made a career-high nine saves in the win to improve to 12-3-3 on the season
• The 5 goals for Nazareth were the most in an Empire 8 tournament game for Nazareth since 2004, a 6-0 win over the semifinals over Elmira
• Nazareth advances to its 18^th Empire 8 championship game under head coach Gail Mann since 2002
• The Golden Flyers are seeking their 14^th Empire 8 Championship under Mann
• Nazareth last won the Empire 8 Championship in 2023, a 3-0 win over St. John Fisher 

UP NEXT
Nazareth hosts #4 Geneseo at 12 p.m. at Golden Flyer Stadium for the Empire 8 Championship Game on Saturday. The Golden Flyers defeated the Knights 3-1 during the regular season back on September 30. The two squads also met back in the 2024 Empire 8 Championship game with the Knights winning 1-0.