| 10/16/2002 10:22:33 PM

PITTSFORD, N.Y. - Tracy Bojko gave St. John Fisher a 1-0 shutout victory against the Rochester Institute of Technology women's soccer team on her game-winning goal with just 1:33 remaining in the Empire 8 contest Wednesday evening.

RIT had the tough task of adjusting to playing on the artificial surface at St. John Fisher, but adding in the wet surface in a rain-soaked field made it twice as difficult.

This helped to even the playing field for St. John Fisher against the heavily-favored Tigers. The Cardinals entered the game with just two wins in 12 tries and a 1-4 Empire 8 record, while RIT was 9-4 overall and 3-2 in the E8.

In a fairly even game throughout, the Cardinals held a slight advantage in the first half with a 4-2 shot advantage. St. John Fisher continued to hold the upperhand in the second half with a 5-2 shot advantage and Tiger goalkeeper Carrie Yehle (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa) withstood the attempts until Bojko's game-winner. Yehle finished with eight saves on the evening.

The loss was a minor blow to the Tigers' hopes of clinching a berth into the first-ever Empire 8 postseason soccer championship. The top four teams at the conclusion of the regular season will travel to Ithaca for the E8 championship.

The Tigers (3-3) are currently tied with Hartwick (3-1) for third place, but Hartwick has the upperhand with three games remaining. RIT travels Hartwick on Saturday, Oct. 19 at 3 p.m. to close out its E8 regular season schedule. Elmira remains in the hunt at 2-3 with Utica and Hartwick remaining on its schedule, but would have to run the table and have the Tigers lose at Hartwick to have a chance, since RIT defeated Elmira 2-1.