PITTSFORD, N.Y. – The St. John Fisher College field hockey team ran its winning streak to eight games on Saturday as the Cardinals, who are receiving votes in the latest National Field Hockey Coaches Association poll, defeated Nazareth College, 6-0, in an Empire 8 contest at Growney Stadium.  With the win, Fisher, which has now won 26 of its last 28 games dating back to last season, improved to 8-1 and remained atop the Empire 8 standings at 4-0 while the Golden Flyers fell to 1-8 overall and 0-3, respectively. 

The Cardinals didn't waste any time putting the Golden Eagles in a hole as Lexi Foley sent a crossing pass into the middle that Emily Markarian buried in the far corner of the goal to give Fisher a 1-0 lead just 2:42 into the first half.  Less than three minutes later, Markarian struck again as the senior scored her 12th goal of the season on a rebound to make it a two-goal affair.

In the 21st minute, Fisher opened up a 3-0 lead after capitalizing on a penalty corner when Lauren Fazio sent a strike to the middle of the zone that found Lindsay Scott.  Scott proceeded to backhand a pass to Bre Socker who unleashed a rocket through the defense and into the goal for her eighth goal of the year.

The Golden Flyers had opportunities late in the opening stanza with three penalty corners over the final three minutes of play, but Ashley Maynard and the Fisher defense stood tall and kept Nazareth off the board heading into intermission.

In the second half, Fisher added to its lead in the 46th minute when Kelly Bergamo scored on a pass from Markarian and would make it a 5-0 game in the 53rd minute as Markarian deflected a shot from Fazio for her third goal of the afternoon.  Just 45 seconds later, Scott sent a rocket into the back of the net to give the Cardinals a 6-0 edge.

As a team, Fisher produced a season-high 33 shots including 21 on goal.  The Cardinals were led by Socker who had 11 shots to her credit in the win along with one goal while Markarian took 10 shots and netted three goals and one helper overall.  Scott finished with three points on one goal and an assist and Bergamo tallied one goal on six total shots.

Maynard picked up the win in goal and moved to 8-1 overall after making one save in nearly 59 minutes of play.  Lexi Kaplan also saw time in the crease though she did not face a shot.

The Cardinals are back to work at 12 p.m. on Sunday when they host SUNY New Paltz at Growney Stadium.