PITTSFORD, N.Y. – The St. John Fisher College women's lacrosse team honored its eight seniors on senior night, as the team fell just short against the nationally-ranked Geneseo Knights on Thursday evening inside Growney Stadium. With the loss, Fisher moves to 8-8 overall, while Geneseo, which is ranked 23rd in the latest Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association national poll, improves to 12-2 on the season.
Among the seniors honored were
Brittany Halpin,
Hannah King,
Bianca Giacona,
Dommie Giacona,
Sydney DeGirolamo,
Eliza Runeare,
Kathleen Salanger, and
Alexandra Strollo.
Freshman
Sydney Carpenter was fantastic for the Cardinals once again as she scored four goals and assisted on one, while seniors Giacona and Salanger tallied three points each.
Defense was on display early in the match as both teams held each other scoreless for the first seven minutes of play. The Knights then saved a Cardinals shot attempt and sprinted down the field to score the first goal of the match.
From there, Fisher would answer right back as Giacona found Salanger for her first goal of the match. Fisher's
Shannon Foster would win the following draw control to leading the Cardinals to a second goal, this time from Giacona.
Geneseo would not trail for long, as the Knights would score three-straight, giving the road team a two-point advantage.
With less than 10 seconds remaining and the Cardinals attacking,
Courtney O'Dea found a loose ball by her feet, picked up the groundball and shot a no-looker into the back of the net for one of the best goals of the season.
Opening the second quarter with a one-point lead, the Knights would tack on three quick ones to jump ahead by four with 10 minutes showing on the clock.
From there, Carpenter took over as she scored four-straight free-position goals. The freshman maneuvered her way through the defense and scored a pair of long-distance shots to tie the game back up at 7-7 heading into half-time.
Following the break, Geneseo would outscore the Cardinals 6-0 in the third quarter to lead 13-7 with 15 minutes remaining in the game.
Not going away easily, Fisher's offense exploded for three goals in just over four minutes by Giacona, O'Dea, and
Farrah Zallah.
The Knights would score two right back to push the lead back up to 15-10 with just over 7 minutes remaining.
Looking for a comeback, Salanger put the team on her back as she scored two goal in under a minute to cut the Geneseo lead to three. Fisher would win the following draw control to slow down the offense and run a play. Fisher would score a third-straight goal as O'Dea found Zallah cutting to the goal for her second of the game, cutting the Knights lead to just two.
Another draw control from the home team led to Carpenter earning a free-position attempt. With a chance to cut the lead to one, Carpenter shot the ball on the whistle and just missed the net, giving Geneseo the possession.
Following a timeout from the Knights, Geneseo would score one more, run out the clock, and end the Cardinals senior day comeback as they put the game away 16-13.
The Cardinals, who are the 2022 Empire 8 regular season champions, will be back in action as they will host the Empire 8 Championship next weekend. Games will be played at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Saturday and the Championship game will be played at 12:30 p.m. on Sunday.
