St. John Fisher College has named #Ryan Schmidt# of the men’s lacrosse team as the College’s Male Athlete of the Week for the week ending May 3, 2009.
Schmidt recorded seven points on four goals on three assists, the second-best total on the team, as the Cardinals advanced to the finals on the Empire 8 Men’s Lacrosse Championship for the first time in the program’s eight-year history.
In the Cardinals’ semifinal win over host Stevens Institute of Technology, Schmidt finished with four goals, including the eventual game-winner 2:01 to play, in a 15-14 upset win over the Ducks. The third-seeded Cardinals jumped out to a 5-1 lead early in the game, and enjoyed a 9-8 edge at the half. Fisher stretched its lead to four goals, 14-10, before the second-seeded Ducks got back into the game with four straight goals over a 3:25 span to tie the score at 14, before the late-game effort secured the win.
With the win, Fisher advanced to take on East Avenue-rival Nazareth College. The Cardinals took the lead just 35 seconds into the game, as Schmidt passed off an assist to #Connor Henderson#, but it would be the only time Fisher would have a lead in the game, as Nazareth went on to a 9-4 win. Fisher pulled to within a goal at 5-4 with 5:49 left in the third quarter, but Nazareth quickly regained the momentum. Nazareth won the ensuing faceoff with Sean Dennison scooping up the ground ball and scoring just 11 seconds later, before adding a pair of goals in the fourth quarter to out the game out of reach.
After spending his freshman season at Utica College, Schmidt ranked fourth on the team this year with 26 goals. The sophomore midfielder added 16 assists to finish with 40 points on the year.
Fisher finished the 2009 season with a 15-3 overall record. The 15 wins marks a new College record for wins in a season, after the Cardinals set the standard last year with 11 wins.
