ALBANY, N.Y. – Russell Sage College advanced to the semifinals of the Empire 8 Conference Championship Tournament with this afternoon's 1-0 win vs. Alfred.
The Gators, the three seed, controlled play throughout the 90 minutes, outshooting Alfred, seeded sixth, 21-4 and holding a 13-0 advantage on corners.
Despite the tilted pitch, it appeared that the matinee would need extra time to decide a winner.
That's when RSC (8-9-1) finally broke through in the 85th minute. Forward Natalie Ricci (Cohoes, NY/Cohoes), a graduate student, dribbled between and through multiple Saxon defenders into the box and sent the ball beyond the diving freshman goalkeeper Kiani Barnard-Pratt and into the bottom right corner of the net.
Goalkeeper Mickaela Buzzy (Oneonta, NY/Oneonta), a graduate student, (Win, 7-3-0) stopped three Alfred shots for her fifth shutout of the fall.
Barnard-Pratt (Loss, 5-7-4) finished with 12 saves for the Saxons (6-7-5).
RSC will play at Nazareth, the two seed, in an E8 Semifinal on Thursday at 2:30 pm.
Notes: 2022 marks the third time that RSC qualified for the E8 Championship Tournament…The Gators won the 2020-21 tournament title…Junior forward Kennedy Jones (Albany, NY/Albany) was named the E8 Player of the Week on Monday…She netted both game-winning goals in a 2-0 week…The newcomer, who closed the regular season by scoring the game-winner in three-consecutive contests, helped the Gators earn today's home E8 playoff game with a goal and an assist in the final 2:04 of Saturday's comeback win at Houghton...Forward Natalie Ricci (Cohoes, NY/Cohoes), a graduate student, was voted team captain....The three-time first-team All-Conference pick now ranks in the top-six in school history for career points and career goals.
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