Women's Soccer | 10/31/2023 1:22:00 PM
PITTSFORD, N.Y. – The St. John Fisher University women's soccer team, ranked No. 2 in the Empire 8 Women's Soccer Championship Tournament, hosts No. 6 Alfred on Wednesday, Nov. 1, for a spot in the conference finals.
The Cardinals finished the regular season last week with a 1-1 draw against Utica, clinching second place in the conference standings, behind only Nazareth University. Fisher's 4-0-4 conference record earned them a bye straight into the semifinals.
Wednesday's semifinal at Growney Stadium kicks off at 7 P.M.
Seasonal Statistics
Fisher finished the regular season 7-3-5 overall to go with their 4-0-4 conference record. They haven't lost a game since they fell to a nationally-ranked University of Rochester squad on Sept. 21, 2-0.
Offensively, the team has been led by junior
Emma Spelman, who has notched a team-leading 14 points this season (3 goals and 8 assists). Spelman's eight assists lead the Empire 8, and her points-per-game of 1.17 is second in the conference, just 0.01 behind the leader. Graduate student
Jenn Kirker leads the team in goals, with six, including a hat trick against Houghton on Oct. 21. Juniors
Riley Grimm and
Siobhan McMakin have four goals each.
In net, the Cardinals have almost entirely used sophomore
Avery Byrnes- she has started in all fifteen games so far. She has finished twelve of them, only being replaced during blowout victories. The Clay, N.Y. native has twice been named Empire 8 Defensive Player of the Week this season and is second in the conference in goals against average (.786) and save percentage (.861).
Know Your Foe
The Alfred University Saxons finished the regular season with a 4-5-7 record, including a 2-1-5 conference mark. They've made the most of their No. 6 seed, though, upsetting No. 3 Nazareth on Monday in penalty kicks.
Earlier this season, the Cardinals tied the Saxons in Alfred, 1-1, with Kirker scoring the lone Fisher goal. Fisher is 14-3-4 against Alfred since 2005, including a 1-0 win in 2021 on Alfred's home turf in the conference semifinals.
The Saxons are led on offense by Abby Scanlan, tied for sixth in the conference with five goals.
Player(s) To Watch
Unlike the regular season, the playoffs can have overtime and penalty-kick shootouts. The Cardinals have had only one penalty kick all season, and midfielder
Tori Cruz took it. The Cortland native has started 13 games this season and has a goal and an assist. Last season,
Jenn Kirker was the choice for penalty kicks, going two-for-two.
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