PITTSFORD, N.Y. - SUNY Geneseo sophomore forward Cara Stafford scored three goals for her first collegiate hat-trick to lead the Knights to a 3-2 victory at Nazareth, Wedensday, in field hockey action.

Stafford converted a feed from sophomore midfielder Morgan Maley in the eighth minute to open the scoring and then added an unassisted tally seven minutes later to stake the Knights to a 2-0 lead in the 14th minute of play.

Nazareth (4-7) got on the board in the 32nd minute on an unassisted goal by Kristina Back that made it a one-goal game at intermission.

After playing nearly 25 minutes of scoreless hockey in the second half, Stafford scored her team-leading eighth goal of the season, cashing in an assist from senior forward Sarah Malinak in the 61st minute to make the game a 3-1 affair.

The Golden Flyers tallied a goal in the final minute on Back's second of the game, but the Knights closed their five-match road trip with the win.

Senior goalkeeper Dayna Mercer was credited with eight saves while Geneseo out-shot its hosts, 22-17.  

The Knights return home to host Keuka on Saturday at 1:00 p.m.