Rachel Cushman had a goal and an assist

Women's Soccer

Finn leads Flyers to E8 finals

Senior has team-high 12 goals

Box
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Nazareth senior Kelly Finn continued to score goals at a torrid pace Saturday, scoring twice in the first half of the Golden Flyers' 3-1 women's soccer victory over RIT. The game, played at Ithaca College, was a semifinal match-up in the Empire 8 Conference Tournament.

The Golden Flyers improved to 12-6-1 overall while RIT dropped to 9-7-2. The Golden Flyers will take on a familiar foe in Sunday's Empire 8 Conference final as they meet top-seeded Ithaca (13-2-2) at 11 a.m. Ithaca defeated Nazareth 2-1 in overtime in this year's regular-season meeting. Sunday's game will mark the seventh straight year that Nazareth and Ithaca have squared off for the E8 title. Sunday's winner gains an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament. Ithaca defeated Stevens, 4-0, in the other semifinal.

Finn has been a scoring machine for the Golden Flyers recently. She scored her team-best 11th and 12th goals of the season in the first half to give the Golden Flyers a 2-0 cushion. She extended her goal-scoring streak to eight straight games and has 10 goals in that span. Her 32 career goals rank her fifth on Nazareth's all-time list.

"She's been a difference maker for us down the stretch," said Nazareth Coach Gail Mann. "It was nice to have her and Rachel (Cushman) back in the lineup together. They are a very dynamic tandem together."

Finn's first goal came at 13:16 and was unassisted as she dribbled around the RIT defense and poked a shot past RIT keeper Ashley Conti. Less than five minutes later, Finn scored again as she accepted a long pass from Cushman and tucked a left-footed shot inside the right post. for a 2-0 lead that extended through halftime.

Nazareth's lead grew to 3-0 in the 66th minute as Cushman netted her seventh goal of the season off an assist from sophomore Meagan Rivera. RIT answered just two minutes later as Emily Traversi scored off an assist from Erica Main.

The Golden Flyers played most of the second half without senior midfielder Ashley Clinton, who suffered a leg injury and is questionable for Sunday.

Nazareth had a 15-11 advantage in shots and sophomore goalie Hillary Simon finished with eight saves. Conti made nine saves for RIT.
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