Despite building a 9-0 first-half lead, the St. John Fisher College women's lacrosse team needed eight more goals in the second half to fight off the visiting Utica College Pioneers in a key Empire 8 win on Saturday at Growney Stadium. With the
17-13 win the Cardinals improve to 8-6 overall, including 5-3 in the Empire 8, guaranteeing Fisher a berth in the Empire 8 Conference Championship Tournament.
Fisher, Nazareth College, and Utica are all vying for the last two spots in the E8 Championship. Tomorrow's matchup at Nazareth College between the Golden Flyers and Pioneers will determine who receives the final berth. With Fisher's win over the Pioneers, a Nazareth win would eliminate Utica and give Nazareth the No. 3 seed, while a Utica win would eliminate Nazareth and give the Pioneers a No. 4 seed.
Fisher scored early and often in the opening half, recording the first goal of the game just 1:31 into the contest, and continued to build its lead behind three goals and two assists from sophomore midfield/attack Courtney Clare. The Cardinals enjoyed a 9-1 lead at the half.
The visiting Pioneers opened the second half on a tear with back-to-back goals just 30 seconds apart, part of a 6-2 Utica scoring run that pulled them to within four, 11-7. Fisher answered with free-position goals from Meg Merriam and Clare, but Utica rallied again, this time for a trio of unanswered scores to set the score at 13-10 in favor of the Cardinals.
With 9:37 remaining, Trish Scudder pushed Fisher's lead back to four goals on another free-position shot, one of five such scores for the Cardinals in the game. Following another Utica score, Lauren Glavin and Ashley Fenyn each scored to put Fisher up five with just over five minutes to play – a cushion just large enough to keep the Pioneers from the win.
Clare and Fenyn finished with six points each in the win, with
Mary Stimson adding four points on three goals and one assist.
Vicki Sahm stopped eight shots between the pipes.
Fisher, Nazareth College, and Utica are all vying for the last two spots in the E8 Championship. Tomorrow's matchup at Nazareth College between the Golden Flyers and Pioneers will determine who receives the final berth. With Fisher's win over the Pioneers, a Nazareth win would eliminate Utica and give Nazareth the No. 3 seed, while a Utica win would eliminate Nazareth and give the Pioneers a No. 4 seed.
