BOX SCORE

The St. John Fisher College field hockey team scored early and often, as the Cardinals picked up a key conference win, defeating Nazareth College 4-1 Tuesday night at Growney Stadium.

With the win, Fisher moves to 7-7 on the season and 3-2 in the conference standings, while Nazareth drops to 4-8 and 2-3 in Empire 8 play.   The seven wins mark a new Fisher record.  The Cardinals are competing in just their third season as an NCAA Division III program.

The Cardinals opened the game on a torrid pace, blasting five shots in the game's opening moments.  Fisher scored the game's first goal in the 10^th minute when Bailee Barrett and Stacie Skidmore were able to sneak behind Nazareth's defenders for a two-on-one opportunity.  Barrett corralled the pass from Skidmore and snuck the ball by the Nazareth goaltender to put the Cardinals in front, 1-0.

The Cardinals were at it again in the 18^th minute.  Alexandrea Malley rocketed a shot that ricocheted right to Marissa Vedella who slapped home the goal, extending Fisher's lead to 2-0.

Fisher controlled the tempo for much of the first half, outshooting the Golden Flyers 17-4.

The Cardinals wasted no time adding to their lead as the second half got underway.  Elizabeth Cusack beat her defender and fired a shot to the left side of the cage that just snuck past the outstretched arm of Nazareth's goalie to give Fisher a 3-0 lead.

Nazareth had a strong chance to get on the board, as the Golden Flyers took a penalty stroke, but Danielle Famolaro stood tall in goal, turning the shot away to keep the momentum in Fisher's favor for the time being.

The visitors would eventually get on the board midway through the second frame when Sibongile Chisi found the loose ball in a scramble in front of Fisher's net before burying Nazareth's first goal.

Moments later, Skidmore would score her fourth goal of the year to put the Cardinals back up by three, beating her defender and slapping the ball past Mary Greco to give Fisher the 4-1 advantage.

Famolaro earned the win after making three saves in net for Fisher.

The Cardinals return to action at 11 a.m. on Saturday against Hartwick College in another crucial Empire 8 contest.