Men's Soccer | 10/31/2023 1:00:00 PM

PITTSFORD, N.Y. – The St. John Fisher University men's soccer team is two wins away from its third-ever Empire 8 conference title. If they lift the trophy, the first of those wins will have to come on Wednesday, Nov. 1, when they host No. 6 Alfred at Growney Stadium at 3:30 P.M. in an Empire 8 semifinal. 
 
The Cardinals clinched the No. 2 seed in the Empire 8 Men's Soccer Championship Tournament last week when they blanked arch-rival Nazareth, 1-0, on Wednesday. Junior Riley Rease scored the lone goal for Fisher, while senior Jadon Schlierf was spectacular in net, making nine saves against the Flyers.
 
Imperial Honors
The Cardinals have won the Empire 8 twice before: in 2016 and 2020. The 2020 season, however, was actually played in the spring of 2021 because of the COVID-19 Pandemic. The NCAA Division III tournament was also canceled that season, so a conference title this season would mean the first automatic bid to the national tournament since 2016. 
 
Seasonal Stats
St. John Fisher ended the regular season with a record of 6-4-5, including a 5-0-3 conference record. They enter Wednesday's game having won or tied every game since Sept. 19, when they fell to nationally-ranked University of Rochester, 2-1. 
 
The Cardinals have been led offensively by the Riley Rease, who leads the team with 10 points (four goals and two assists). The Nunda native had a slow start to the year but caught fire in October, scoring all 10 of his points, including two goals and an assist against Alfred on Oct. 4. Fifth-year defender Tim Brown is tied with Rease for the team lead in goals, with four, while senior Joey Avallone has notched three scores. 
 
Defensively, the Cardinals have split goaltending duties between senior Jadon Schlierf and graduate student Christian Burkhart. Schlierf has landed in the Empire 8 leaderboards for total shutouts (6, tied for first), save percentage (.833, good for second), and lowest goals-against-average (.786, good for third), and saves per game (3.50, fifth). 
 
Know Your Foe
The Alfred University Saxons were 6-7-4 this season, including a 2-4-2 conference record. Sneaking into the tournament as a sixth seed, they upset No. 3 Nazareth University on Saturday, 2-1, thanks to a late goal by junior Christian Moon. 
 
Earlier this season, Fisher defeated the Saxons at Growney Stadium, 4-3, on Oct. 4. That high-scoring contest saw the Cardinals pull ahead early thanks to two goals by Rease but then fall behind when the Saxons scored three unanswered. Fisher came back thanks to late goals by Brown and graduate student Parker Hotchkiss for the victory. The Cardinals are 11-8-1 against the Saxons since 2005. 
 
The Saxons haven't won the Empire 8 since they were co-champions with Nazareth in 2003. 
 
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