Box Score Hoboken, NJ (11/10/13)- The Utica College field hockey team won its second straight Empire 8 Conference title Sunday as it defeated No. 4 seed St. John Fisher 5-2. Junior Hannah Mackey (Locke, NY/Moravia Central) was named the tournament's most valuable player after tallying two goals and one assist in the final.

St. John Fisher got on the board in the 13th minute as Caitlin Allen deflected a shot from Alexis Zakala off the corner for her first goal of the season. The Pioneers rebounded eight minutes later as Mackey netted her first of the game, assisted by Colleen Dowling (Fairport, NY/Fairport). The Pioneers took a 2-1 lead in the 31st minute as Alaina Stojkovski (Liverpool, NY/Cicero-North Syracuse) took a feed from Nikki Kieffer (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy) off a penalty corner and fired home her 10th of the year. The Pioneers went into the half with a 17-4 shot advantage including a 13-1 run after the Cardinals scored.

UC continued its momentum as Mackey cushioned the lead just 13 seconds into the second half with her team-leading 18th goal of the season. The Pioneers added goals from Louise Steele-Norton (Avondale, PA/Millbrook School) and Stojkovski to all but seal the victory. Fisher was able to net another tally on a penalty stroke in the 61st minute, but it was not enough as the Pioneers held on for the 5-2 victory.

Ally Sanders (Endicott, NY/Maine Endwell) tallied one assist on the day and Kells Casey (Sandwich, MA/Kimball Union Academy) made six saves in the win, while Danielle Famolaro had seven saves for Ithaca. Juniors Louise Steele-Norton (Avondale, PA/Millbrook School), Nikki Kieffer (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy), and Alaina Stojkovski (Liverpool, NY/Cicero-North Syracuse) joined Mackey on the All-Tournament team. UC moved to 16-4 on the year, while capturing the Empire 8 title and an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year. The Pioneers will now wait for the NCAA bracket to be released later this evening to find out the location and opponent of their first round game. Check www.ucpioneers.com for the most updated post season information.



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