Box Score

The St. John Fisher College field hockey team picked up a critical win over Empire 8 rival Nazareth College on Wednesday night.  The Cardinals defeated the home team 2-1 to push their in-conference record to 4-3 on the year, thus putting themselves in a position to reach postseason play in just their second season. 

Fisher (6-9 overall) is finished with Empire 8 play but can reach the Empire 8 Championship through a variety of scenarios, as all depend on results of other conference games.  The biggest matchup for fans to watch is that of Hartwick and Utica on October 27th, where the Cardinals need the Hawks to come away with a victory.

Marissa Vedella led the Cardinals to victory in this game, as she accounted for both Fisher goals, scoring one in each half.  In the first, Vedella scored a tap-in goal in the 26th minute of play after she was setup by teammate Stacie Skidmore. 

After Nazareth's Sarah Wazenkewitz evened the game at 1-1 on a penalty corner goal at 52:40, Vedella took the game into her own hands to score the game-winner unassisted just six minutes later. This time, after a corner, Vedella found herself in the right place at the right time again, as she corralled the ball and netted it after a scramble in front of the net.

Vedella and Elizabeth Cusack led the Cardinals with three shots each, while Danielle Famolaro recorded 12 saves in cage for Fisher.

The Cardinals will return to action at 6 p.m. on Wednesday when they travel to in-town rival University of Rochester.