PITTSFORD, N.Y. – The nationally-ranked St. John Fisher College women's lacrosse team opened its season against a familiar opponent as the Cardinals downed East Avenue rival Nazareth College, 7-5, on Wednesday in a non-conference tilt inside Growney Stadium.  With the win, Fisher, which is ranked 13th in the latest Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association national poll, is now 1-0 while the Golden Flyers fell to 0-1 to begin the year.

It was a defensive battle from the get-go as neither team was willing to give an inch. With five minutes having ticked off the clock, Fisher struck first as Logan Chase converted a free position opportunity to make it 1-0.  From there, the home team would double its advantage just three minutes later when Alyssa Sproule found Mackenzie Alexander in the middle to make it 2-0.

Trailing by a pair of goals near the midway mark of the first half, Nazareth was able to cut the deficit in half, but Kathleen Salanger pushed the Cardinals' lead back to two after scoring on a free position before Sproule found the back of the net at 9:29 to stake Fisher to a 4-1 cushion.

As the first half wore on, Nazareth was able to get one back to make it a 4-2 game heading into intermission.

Coming out of the break, Fisher picked up its pace and made it 5-2 when Alexander scored following a free position shot.  The Golden Flyers, however, kept pace and pulled to within striking distance with a goal at the 24:56 mark of the half.

Holding a two-goal lead, Fisher afforded itself some breathing room when Bianca Giacona fed Sydney DeGirolamo across the middle for a goal that made it 6-3 with 20:26 still showing on the clock.

With time winding down, momentum began to swing in Nazareth's direction as the Golden Flyers netted two quick goals to make it 6-5, but that was as close as the visitors would get as Fisher's defense allowed just two shots over the final 16 minutes while Logan Chase hit Sproule for a goal that made it 7-5.

Sproule led Fisher with two goals and an assist on 12 shots while Alexander finished with two goals to her name along with two groundballs.  Chase had a goal and an assist along with a team-high six groundballs and five draw controls.  DeGirolamo added four draw controls and three groundballs in the win.

In goal, Claudia Mocciaro moved to 1-0 after making six stops in 60 minutes of play.

Fisher will go for its second win of the young season at 4 p.m. on Friday when it welcome Clarkson University to campus for another non-conference showdown inside Growney Stadium.