No. 1-Seeded Men's Soccer Ready For No. 5-Seeded Brockport

Last Time Out: St. John Fisher 1, Russell Sage 0

• The No. 1-seeded Cardinals scored early and held on the rest of the way for a 1-0 victory over No. 8-seeded Russell Sage in the first round of the Empire 8 Men's Soccer Championship on Saturday.
• Senior Riley Rease scored his fifth goal of the season – and fourth in his last five games – at the 5:47 mark in the first half. Fifth-year midfielder Joey Avallone had the assist. 
• Goalkeeper Christian Burkhart made five saves and recorded his 11th shutout of the season.

Fisher Notes To Know

• The Cardinals' 10 wins this season are their most under Burgasser, who took over the program before the 2020 season. 
• The Cardinals' 10 wins are tied for the second-most by a team in program history since at least 2005 (the 2009 and 2005 teams also won 10 games). The 2007 team holds the program record for single-season wins (12). 
• The Cardinals have won the Empire 8 regular-season title two times in the last three seasons (2022 and 2024). They shared the title last season with Elmira and had the No. 2 seed in the Empire 8 Men's Soccer Championship.
• Fisher enters the Empire 8 semifinals on a seven-game winning streak, the longest run of victories in program history. 
• The Cardinals have outscored their opponents 16-1 during their seven-game winning streak. 
•  The Cardinals, who haven't allowed a goal since Oct. 16, have blanked six of their last seven opponents. 
• Burkhart ended the regular season tied for first in Division III in shutouts. 
• Burkhart's 11 shutouts (10 regular season, one postseason) are the most by an Empire 8 goalkeeper since Aaron Henry (Stevens) had 13 in 2018.
• Burkhart has been named Empire 8 Defensive Player of the Week in back-to-back weeks. 
• The Cardinals have allowed the fewest goals (11) in the Empire 8 this season. 
• The Cardinals have allowed more than one goal in just two of their 18 contests this season. 
• The Cardinals have five 1-0 wins this season (inclduing two in a row).
• St. John Fisher has reached the conference semifinals in each of Burgasser’s five seasons in charge of the program. 
• Avallone leads the Cardinals in points (17), goals (6) and assists (5). 
• Avallone’s 17 total points points are the most by a Fisher player since Rease had 22 in 2021.
• Avallone has recorded at least one point in five of the Cardinals’ last seven games. He has 13 points total in that stretch. 
• Avallone has tallied multiple points in five contests this season. He had a career-high five in Fisher’s dominant win over Keuka two weeks ago. 
• Rease has 13 points over 12 games this season, the second most on the team. He has five goals and three assists. 
• Sophomore forward Jack Tamburino (5 goals, 2 assists, 12 points) has also been a consistent offensive threat for the Cardinals.

Last Meeting: St. John Fisher 1, Brockport 0

• Fifth-year defender Ryan Brown scored the game’s lone goal on a penalty kick in the 79th minute to push the Cardinals past Brockport at Growney Stadium on Oct. 12. 
• Burkhart made a career-high seven saves in his seventh shutout of the year. 
• The victory marked the Cardinals’ first over Brockport since 2017. 
• Brockport owns a 12-5-2 advantage in the series since 2005.

Brockport Notes

• Brockport scored three goals in the second half to beat No. 4-seeded Hartwick in the Empire 8 quarterfinals over the weekend. Brady Reinagel scored two of those goals, while Mauricio Leiva had the other. 
• Dom Russ ranks eighth in the Empire 8 in points with 11. 
• Brockport goalkeeper Andrew Taylor ranks second in Empire 8 with six shutouts. 
• Taylor has allowed 14 goals, the third-fewest in the conference.

Empire 8 Men's Soccer Championship Schedule and Results

Participating Teams
No. 1 – St. John Fisher University (26 points, 8-1-2 E8, 9-4-4 Overall)
No. 2 – Nazareth University (24 points, 7-1-3 E8, 10-3-4 Overall)
No. 3 – SUNY Geneseo (21 points, 6-2-3 E8, 8-4-5 Overall)
No. 4 – SUNY Poly (19 points, 5-2-4 E8, 10-3-4 Overall)
No. 5 – SUNY Brockport (18 points, 5-3-3 E8, 6-6-4 Overall)
No. 6 – Hartwick College (18 points, 6-5-0 E8, 8-7-1 Overall)
No. 7 – Elmira College (17 points, 5-4-2 E8, 5-8-4 Overall)
No. 8 – Russell Sage College (15 points, 4-4-3 E8, 7-7-3 Overall)

2024 Empire 8 Men's Soccer Championship Schedule

Saturday, November 2 – Quarterfinals
No. 1 St. John Fisher defeated No. 8 Russell Sage, 1-0 – BOX SCORE
No. 5 SUNY Brockport defeated No. 4 SUNY Poly, 3-0 – BOX SCORE
No. 6 Hartwick draws No. 3 SUNY Geneseo, 1-1 (advances on PK's 6-5) – BOX SCORE
No. 7 Elmira defeated No. 2 Nazareth, 2-1 – BOX SCORE

Wednesday, November 6 - Semifinals 
No. 5 SUNY Brockport at No. 1 St. John Fisher – 7 p.m. – VIDEO/LIVE STATS
No. 7 Elmira at No. 6 Hartwick – 6:30 p.m. – VIDEO/LIVE STATS

Saturday, November 9 - Championship Final
Winner of Semifinal 1 vs. Winner of Semifinal 2 -– TBA (at highest remaining seed) – VIDEO/LIVE STATS

About the Empire 8 Conference

The members of the Empire 8 Conference are committed first and foremost to the pursuit of academic excellence and the league is regarded as an outstanding NCAA Division III conference. The membership has distinguished itself among its peer group for its quality institutions, spirited and sportsmanlike competition, outstanding services and highly ethical policies and practices. Its commitment to serve the educational needs of its student-athletes is the hallmark of the E8. For more on the Empire 8 visit www.empire8.com and YouTube.