ALFRED, N.Y. – The third-seeded St. John Fisher College women's soccer team is moving on in the Empire 8 Championship after the Cardinals defeated second-seeded Alfred University, 1-0, on Thursday night in the semifinal round played inside Yunevich Stadium.  With the win, Fisher, which will be making its first-ever appearance in the conference finale, improved to 10-5-1 on the year while the Saxons' season was ended at 10-5-4.  The win had added significance as it marked the first time the Cardinals have reached double-digit wins in a single season since the team went 11-5-1 in 1995.

The Saxons tested Fisher's backline early and often as the home team accounted for three shots and two corners over the first 30 minutes of play.  After holding its ground, Fisher returned the favor and peppered Alfred's defense with two shots in a span of five seconds before Alexis Gossage found Carli Kovarik in the middle for the senior's 15th goal of the season and a 1-0 Cardinals' advantage.

As the half wore on, Alfred took to net the equalizer as the home team accounted for three shots over the final nine minutes of the first half, but Fisher's defense came away with two blocks to maintain a one-goal lead heading into the second half.

With 45 minutes remaining in the contest, Fisher's pace quickened as head coach Molly Romano's squad looked to pad its lead with four shots including two on goal through the 70th minute.

Still leading by one with time winding down, Fisher's defense came through once again after coming up with another big block in the 79th minute to preserve the 1-0 lead.

In all, the Cardinals accounted for 11 shots in the win led by Kovarik who was credited with having taken seven on the night.  Emma Osterhoudt, Grace Wolsieffer, Kathleen Rachwal and Gossage had one shot apiece.

In goal, Halle Tickell moved to 9-4-1 overall as the senior picked up her fifth clean sheet of the season after making two saves over 90 minutes.

The Cardinals will look to add to their win total at 11 a.m. on Saturday when they make the short trek down East Avenue to take on the top-seeded Nazareth College Golden Flyers in the Empire 8 Championship game.  The winner will earn the conference's automatic berth into the NCAA Division III Championship, which is slated to begin next week.