Last Updated:3:23 PM EST 11/20/09 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Erica Henriksen Alex Salter is attacked by Nazareth defenders in the Golden Flyer's 2-1 victory over the Cardinals.

Nothing is more painful for a team than losing a battle to their bitter rivals.
The St. John Fisher Cardinals (9-7-1) (4-3-0) felt that pain when they lost 2-1 to rival Nazareth College (11-4-2) (5-0-2) at Golden Flyer Stadium on Nov. 6. The loss eliminated the Cardinals from the Empire 8 Tournament.
"I knew if we lost it'd be the end of the season," senior midfielder Luke Lennox said. "I went to NCAAs in my first year and it would have been great to go back again."
The E8 semifinal opened slowly, showing no opportunities for either team. At the 11-minute mark, Lennox floated a free kick towards senior defender Eric Friedman who headed it towards goal. Nazareth goalkeeper Ryan Platt made the save to keep the game scoreless.
Four minutes later, midfielder Chris Eccles lofted a pass to E8 Rookie of the Year forward Alex Manchev. Manchev gathered the pass and lightly touched it into the back of the net, giving the Golden Flyers the lead.
On the play, Manchev collided with Fisher goalkeeper Adam Durst as he was shooting. Durst left the game on the play and did not returnSenior Robert Weigand replaced Durst.
"Bobby made some great saves for us," Fisher head coach Rob Searl said. "He made one against their best player and had some great diving stops."
Nazareth added to their lead, however, at 22:30. Senior Christopher Lofgren sent a pass down the right side to sophomore Andrew Alaimo. Alaimo fired the shot past Weigand to give Nazareth a 2-0 lead.
Facing a 2-0 deficit, Fisher needed a quick response. The response came at 34:19 when Lennox sent a lead pass through the defense to forward Bryan Canty. Canty slid into the pass and fired it into the back of the net, putting the score at 2-1.
Moments later, Lennox fired another pass up field, this time to junior Alex Salter. Salter aimed his shot, but was turned away by a diving save from Platt.
"Luke Lennox played incredible," Searl said. "He's the reason we scored our only goal and was the man of the game."
At the end of the first half, Nazareth was ahead of Fisher 2-1. However, the statistics were heavily in Fisher's favor. The Cardinals took twice as many shots (10) as Nazareth (5) and had more free kicks and corner opportunities as well.

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