Field Hockey | 11/5/2015 7:02:00 PM

The St. John Fisher College field hockey team is set to compete in its fourth-straight Empire 8 Conference Championship this weekend, hosted by top-seeded Ithaca College.

In its fifth season as an NCAA Division III member, the second-seeded Cardinals finished their regular season 12-6 overall and 6-2 in conference action, marking the most successful season in program history.

Fisher will travel to Ithaca to begin its championship quest at 6 p.m. on Friday when the Cardinals take on the third-seeded Stevens Institute of Technology Ducks in the Empire 8 Semifinals.

With a winning result on Friday the Cardinals will advance to the Championship game at 4 p.m. on Saturday, and would take on either top-seeded Ithaca College or fourth-seed Washington and Jefferson. The winner of Saturday's championship game will earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championship.


Fisher has remained one of the top statistical contenders on the Empire 8 Conference leaderboards throughout the season and currently heads the Empire 8 Conference in goals with 48 as a team. In addition, the Empire 8 Conference honored five Fisher student-athletes for their achievements on the field this season. Elizabeth Cusack was named to the All-Conference First Team, Emily Markarian, Hannah Cooper, and Danielle Famolaro all received All-Conference Second Team honors, while Jill Alaimo was selected as the College's Sportswoman of the Year.

Tournament Webpage

Schedule
Friday, November 6
Semifinal 1 - #1 Ithaca vs. #4 Washington & Jefferson - 3pm  Live Stats | Video
Semifinal 2 - #2 St. John Fisher vs. #3 Stevens - 6 p.m. - Live Stats | Video

Saturday, November 7
Championship - 4 p.m. - Live Stats | Video

Ticket Prices
General Public: $5
IC Students/Faculty & Staff with ID: Free
Visiting Students/Faculty & Staff with ID: $3
Senior Citizens/Youth: $3
Children 12 and Under: Free


Participating Teams Twitter Coverage:
Ithaca @bombersports 
St. John Fisher @fisherathletics
Stevens @stevensducks
Washington & Jefferson @WJathletics
Empire 8 @empire8


Before the action begins, here are some quick facts you should know about the conference tournament. (*Quick facts will be based on the current tournament format years 2007-2015).Tournament History 
 

• The Empire 8 will employ a four team tournament format for the ninth straight year. Prior to the 2007 tournament, the E8 champion was determined based on the regular season finish.
• Ithaca is participating in the tournament for the fifth time and the first as the No. 1 seed.
• Fisher is a fifth year program and participating in its fourth straight tournament. 
• Stevens has qualified for every tournament except the first in 2007.
• W&J has qualified for every tournament except for the 2013 season.
• The door is open for a new champion this year as the three-time defending champions, Utica College, didn't qualify. 
• The #1 seed is 6-2 in the semifinal game of the tournament. #2 seed (6-2), #3 seed (2-6), #4 seed (2-6). 
• The tournament has played out according to seeding three times. 
• The #1 seed has won the conference championship four times (2008, 2009, 2010, 2014).
• The #2 seed has won the title three times (2007, 2012 and 2013).  
• The #3 seed has never won a title.
• The #4 seed won the title in 2011. 
• Ithaca has never won an E8 tournament game (0-4).
• Fisher is 2-3 in the E8 tournament, including an 0-2 mark in the title game.
• Stevens is 7-4 overall in the E8 tournament and has played in the championship game four times with a 3-1 record.
• W&J is 6-6 all-time in the E8 tournament and has played in the championship game five times with a 1-4 record.