Box Score

Senior Melissa Leonhard, playing in the final home game of her career, scored two goals in a nine-second span to snap a 4-4 tie late in the first half to help lift the St. John Fisher College women's lacrosse team to a 12-8 win over visiting Nazareth College in a pivotal Empire 8 Conference matchup.
 
With the win, Fisher improves to 9-3 overall and 3-1 in the Empire 8, while Nazareth falls to 5-6, 2-2.

Fisher never trailed in the game.  The Cardinals took a 4-1 lead with 12 minutes left in the first half, but Nazareth came storming back, scoring three straight in a five-minute span.

With 1:18 left in the first half Leonhard gave her team the lead for good, and after winning the ensuing draw, the senior scored again, this time with 1:09 remaining to give the Cardinals a 6-4 lead at the break.
 
Nazareth pulled to within a goal on two different occasions in the second half.  Erinn Wood scored for the Golden Flyers with 6:39 left to make it 9-8, but the Cardinals answered right back with Lindsey Shoales scoring off a pass from Samantha Barton less than one minute later.
 
Fisher out-shot Nazareth 44-11 and had a 29-15 advantage in ground balls. Leonhard led Fisher with five goals, while Erin Ward scored four goals – two in each half.
 
Taylor Hughes tallied three assists, while Bridget Alberts also scored in the win.   Barton also scored a goal.  Hughes led Fisher with five draw controls and four ground balls.  Logan Barnard, Emily Bryerton and Leonhard also finished with four ground balls.
 
Freshman Nicole Hart made the start in goal for Fisher – the first of her career – and made one save over 29 minutes.    Senior Molly Naylon played the remaining minutes of the game and made one save.
 
Fisher will return to action at 1 p.m. on Friday at Stevens Institute of Technology.