PITTSFORD, N.Y. – Senior
Bre Socker became the program's all-time leader in points on Friday night as the Liverpool native netted five goals for the top-seeded St. John Fisher College field hockey team as the Cardinals overwhelmed fifth-seeded Nazareth College, 6-0, in the semifinal round of the Empire 8 Championship inside Growney Stadium. With the win, Fisher improved to 5-0 and advanced to the conference title game while the Golden Flyers' season came to a close with a 2-4 overall record.
Socker passed All-American Emily Markarian in the record book with 183 career points and now needs just three goals to surpass Markarian's all-time mark of 179 career goals. Socker further etched her name in the program's all-time top performances as her five goals and 10 points are the most a Cardinals' player has ever accounted for in a single game.
The Cardinals got on the board in just the fourth minute as
Allison Bartlett sent a corner feed to the top of the arc where Socker, who was named the National Field Hockey Coaches Association's Offensive Player of the Week on Tuesday, dumped it in to
Alyssa Andres who redirected the ball back to Bartlett to make it a 1-0 affair.
As the first quarter continued, Fisher would double its lead when Socker punched in a rebound with 28 seconds remaining to make it 2-0 heading into the second.
Already holding a two-goal advantage, the Cardinals tacked on a third goal in the 26th minute after forcing a turnover in Nazareth's end as Bartlett sent a pass in front of the cage that Socker deposited into the back of the net to make it 3-0 at the end of the first half of play.
Coming out of the break, Socker struck again in the 44th minute on a breakaway and would repeat the play five minutes later with her fourth goal of the game on another 1-on-1 situation.
Holding a five-goal margin with time winding down, Fisher scored again with Socker firing one into the right corner of the cage for a 6-0 lead.
Sophia Trozzi moved to 5-0 in goal for the Cardinals as the freshman did not face a shot on goal over 60 minutes.
The Cardinals will return to action at 5:30 p.m. on Sunday when they take on second-seeded Hartwick College in the Empire 8 Championship game on the turf inside Growney Stadium.
