PITTSFORD, N.Y. – The St. John Fisher College men's lacrosse team will look to continue its record-setting season as the Cardinals have once again earned the right to compete for a conference title in the Empire 8 Conference Championship this week. Fisher wrapped up the 2019 regular season with a 14-2 overall record and a 7-1 mark in the Empire 8 standings. 
 
Fisher locked up the No. 2 seed with a 26-4 win over Sage on Saturday afternoon and earned the right to host one of the two semi-final games. Fisher will host No. 3 Hartwick on Wednesday at Growney Stadium at 5 p.m., while No.1 Stevens will host No. 4 Nazareth in Hoboken, N.J. 
 
The two winners of the semi-final matchups, will meet on Saturday with a chance to take home the Empire 8 Conference Championship and earn an automatic bid into the NCAA Division III Men's Lacrosse Championship. 
 
For fans unable to make it to Growney Stadium on Wednesday, please use the links below to follow all the action live.
   
Time to Shine: Fisher returns to the Empire 8 Conference Championship for the second consecutive season and 11^thtime in program history. Head Coach Dave Dobbins has led the Cardinals to 14 victories this season, which marks the highest win total through the start of postseason play since the 2010 season where the Cardinals won 16 regular season matchups.
 
 Hot Streaks: The Cardinals began the 2019 campaign with a six-game winning streak and also put together another six-game winning streak that stretched through the month of April. Fisher also began its Empire 8 season schedule with five straight conference victories, while finishing the regular season with back-to-back conference wins.
 
Offensive Firepower: The Fisher offense has been unstoppable for the majority of the regular season as the Cardinals currently lead the Empire 8 Conference with a 10.8 goal differential and 18.00 goals per game, while ranking second with 288 total goals scored. The Cardinals have also found success on the man-up advantage this season, finishing the regular season with a conference-leading 54.1% success rate. 
 
What Sophomore Slump?: Sophomores Nicholas Miller and Joe Post have been outstanding for the Cardinals all season long. Miller and Post have re-written the program's record book as both are having career season thus far. Miller has already become the Empire 8 and program record holder for goals in a single season, while Post has broken his own record for ground balls in a single season. Miller currently leads the Empire 8 with 65 goals and 92 points, while also tallying 27 assists, 106 shots on goal, and 37 ground balls. Post has been a monster inside the faceoff circle, finishing the regular season winning 71 percent of his draws (262-for-369), while also grabbing a team-leading 182 ground balls. 
 
Teamwork Makes the Dream Work: The Cardinals have had great all-around support throughout the entire regular season. Including Miller, five Cardinals have already surpassed the 25-goal mark this season including Ian Evans, Jack Mulvihill, Chance Gates, and Zach Wagner. Evans has had a phenomenal freshman season as the Jamesville native ranks third in the Empire 8 with 32 assists, while his 43 goals ranks him fourth in the conference. Mulvihill has also enjoyed success in his sophomore year as the DeWitt native has notched 27 goals after scoring 12 in his first season as a Cardinal.
 
Defense Wins Championship: Fisher has not only been able to score the ball throughout the regular season, but has also stopped its opponent from scoring just as well. Aside from the 10.8 goal differential, the Cardinals have allowed only 115 total goals against during the 16 regular season contests, while also only allowing seven man-up goals on 52 total attempts. Dobbins has relied on the defensive core of William Fell, Cole Fowler, Kyle O'Dea, and Roger Panara to shut down the conference's top offenses. Goalkeeper Darin Eakins has come up in the clutch many times so far this season as the junior has won 11 games in net, while holding 8.23 goals against average and a 57.5 save percentage. 
 
Scouting Hartwick: The Hawks come into the Empire 8 Conference Championship as the No. 3 seed after finishing the regular season with a 10-4 overall record and 6-2 mark in conference play. Hartwick is led Kainen Francis-Thompson and Sam Ferguson who have tallied 48 and 46 points, respectively. The last time these two teams met, Fisher came out on the winning end as the Cardinals defeated the Hawks 25-12 back on April 13^that Growney Stadium.