PITTSFORD, N.Y. – The top-seeded St. John Fisher College field hockey team scored three goals in the third quarter and overwhelmed fourth-seeded Nazareth College, 6-0, on Tuesday night in the semifinal round of the Empire 8 Championship inside Growney Stadium.  With the win, Fisher improved to 11-7 on the season while the Golden Flyers had their season come to a close with a 6-11 record.

The Cardinals, who won the Empire 8 title earlier this spring, will have a chance to defend their crown as the team will take on third-seeded Utica College at 5 p.m. on Saturday at Growney Stadium with the conference title and an automatic berth into the NCAA Championship up for grabs.  The Pioneers earned their way into the finale after defeating second-seeded Hartwick College on Tuesday, 2-1.

The Cardinals, who scored a season-high 15 points in the win, controlled the tempo from the early stages of the game and eventually forged ahead just 53 seconds before the end of the first quarter when Bre Socker found Molly Fisher in front of the goal to stake the home team to a 1-0 edge.

Ahead by a goal, Fisher doubled its advantage in the 22nd minute as Alyssa Andres rebounded her own shot and dumped it into the back of the goal for a two-goal cushion.

Coming out of halftime, Fisher kept its foot on the gas and scored three goals in a span of seven minutes to open up a commanding 5-0 lead.  Molly Fisher tallied her 10th goal of the season just four minutes into the third after coming away with a loose ball in front of the goal before Andres sent a pass into the middle that Socker deflected into the corner just 55 seconds later.  Leading by four, Gianna Palma capped the scoring in the period after Fisher found her open on the far side for her sixth tally of the year.

With the game well in hand, the Cardinals continued to pour it on in the fourth as Socker registered her fifth point of the night after netting her 17th goal to push the lead to six with time running down.

In all, head coach Victoria Bothner's squad was credited with having taken a season-high 46 shots led by Socker who matched her own season-high with 15.  Palma finished the win with nine shots while Emma Cooper had five including four on goal. Fisher had 11 shots overall while Riley Jameson chipped in with three shots on the offensive end of the field.

In goal, Sophia Trozzi moved to 11-7 on the season and recorded her eighth shutout of the year.  The Cardinals' defense smothered Nazareth all game and yielded just two shots over 60 minutes of play.