ONEONTA, NY - Nazareth scored six times in the opening ten minutes of the game and thwarted a pair of 'Wick second-half comebacks in a 15-8 victory Saturday at Wright Stadium. The Hawks cut the Golden Flyers' advantage to 9-5 with under 10 minutes remaining and 11-7 with less than five to play but could not get any closer than the four-goal deficits.
Hartwick freshman Emily Walsh (Cortland, NY) led all scorers on the day with a career-best four goals. Sophomore Tiffanie Bishop (Shoreham, VT) and freshman Brittany LaVaute (Skaneateles, NY) each added two goals. LaVaute (2), Walsh, and sophomore Bianca Gianfrate (Endicott, NY) also earned assists for 'Wick. Keeper Jen Kaye (Altamont, NY) made 18 saves in the match, including seven stops on free position shots.
Ten different Golden Flyers found the net in the game. Nora Davis scored three times and assisted two goals. Shannon Lattimore, Alyssia Roberts, and Michelle Cook each scored two goals apiece.
Two goals from Davis and two from Roberts would lead the Golden Flyers to a 6-0 advantage in the contest after just 8:49 of action. Hartwick would respond as its offense tallied three of the game's next four goals, and the 'Wick defense would allow just two Golden Flyer goals over the next 40 minutes of the game. Walsh scored her first of the day for the Hawks' from a LaVaute pass with 18:36 left on the clock in the first session. After Naz netted its seven goal, Walsh would return the favor to LaVaute, setting her up for her 11th of the season 25 minutes into the period. With under a minute to go before the break, Gianfrate delivered a pass to Walsh who converted her second of the day for a 7-3 game after 30 minutes.
The Golden Flyers outshot 'Wick 17-9 in the opening half and held a slight 14-13 edge in ground balls. Naz controlled the draws winning nine of 11 in the stanza.
Nazareth extended its lead to 8-3 6:55 into the second half, but neither team was able to muster a goal for close to 13 minutes. Davis would record her third goal at the 19:12 mark of the half before Bishop would score twice in a 26-second span to cut the lead to four (9-5). She scored off a Stephanie Nutt (Shirley, NY) pass, then added a free position goal for her team-leading 19th of the year.
The Golden Flyers would answer tallying a pair of goals 27 seconds apart to regain the six-goal edge with under eight minutes to play. Walsh scored with 7:38 to go and again with 4:56 showing on the clock and the Hawks were again within four goals, 11-7.
Naz would close out the match with four of the last five goals, including three straight in a 2:45 span. LaVaute ended the 'Wick scoring with just over two minutes to go.
Kaye would tie a game-high with five ground balls for Hartwick with LaVaute and Briana Crow (Scotia, NY) each grabbing three. Bishop secured a team-best three draws, and Crow and Gianfrate each caused three Naz turnovers. Lauren Evans nabbed five ground balls for Naz and Mary Kate Scardillo added four. Maggie Mullin grabbed six of the Golden Flyers 16 draw controls on the day.
The Hawks continue play tomorrow against St. John Fisher College in another Empire 8 contest. The game is slated for a 1 p.m. start at Wright Stadium.
