PITTSFORD, N.Y. – The nationally-ranked St. John Fisher College men's lacrosse team completed its season sweep of Empire 8 opponents with a 29-3 victory over Russell Sage Saturday afternoon inside Growney Stadium on senior day. With the win, Fisher, which is ranked fifth in the latest United States Lacrosse Coaches Association national poll, improves to 13-2 on the season and a perfect 6-0 in the conference, while Sage drops to 6-10 on the season, and 1-5 in the Empire 8.
Among the seniors honored were
Kyle Rochester, Corey Rinaldi,
Matthew Delaney,
Zach Mitrano,
Tucker O'Donnell,
Ian Evans,
Jordan Depetres, and
Jack Hyde.
Nicholas Miller, who celebrated his senior day a year ago, added to his list of accolades after he assisted on six goals in the game including his 119
th career assist, breaking the program-record previously held by Dave Malone ('10) with 117. Miller, who is now the Cardinals all-time leader in points, assists, and goals, is undoubtably one of the greatest athletes to put on the cardinal and gold uniform.
With his program-breaking performance Miller led the offense with 10 points, one shy of tying the single-game record held by teammate Evans. Evans had fantastic senior day as well finishing with four goals and an assist, while Depetres,
Matthew Kemmis, and
Jake Riley all tallied three points in the match.
Opening the match at the X was
Joe Post, who last week broke the Division III groundball record. Post allowed Fisher's offense to thrive as he went 15-15 at the face-off. This dominance helped the Cardinals to score 12 goals in the first quarter.
With seven seconds showing on the scoreboard in the first quarter, Fisher scored its 12
th goal as Miller found Evans to beat the buzzer, giving the Cardinals a 12-0 lead.
Fisher continued its momentum in the second quarter as Rochester forced a Sage turnover, leading Miller to sprint down the field and score his 40th goal of the season.
The Cardinals defense continued to shine as they held Sage scoreless for 30 minutes of play to head into halftime up 15-0.
Following the break, Fisher kept the ball rolling as
Roger Panara, Jacob Galina and
Timmy Salit all scored to push the Cardinals lead to 19.
From there, Sage was able to get on the board with a pair of goals, before Fisher would score four more to go into the fourth quarter leading 23-2.
In the final 15 minutes of play, Fisher would outscore the Gators 6-1 in the fourth quarter and run out the clock to win 29-3, and complete the regular season flawless in the Empire 8.
As a team, the Cardinals outshot the Gators, 62-14, forced 24 turnovers, forced 10 failed clears, and won the face-off battle 32-3.
With the regular season now complete, the Cardinals will turn their attention to postseason play as Fisher, which is ranked as the top seed and will host the Empire 8 tournament, will be looking for its third-straight Empire 8 championship.
Head Coach
Dave Dobbins' squad will take on fourth seeded Hartwick in the opening round at 4 p.m. on Wednesday inside Growney Stadium.
