Men's Lacrosse | 2/28/2023 3:50:00 PM
PITTSFORD, N.Y. - The St. John Fisher men's lacrosse team is geared up to compete in their first regular season game on the road, Wednesday, March 1 at 3:30 pm against SUNY Cortland. The week continues, on Saturday March 4, as the team will travel to compete against No. 14 ranked St. Lawrence University at 2pm. The team heads into the weekend ranked No. 12 in the preseason Division III USA Lacrosse Magazine and No. 13 in the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) preseason polls.
Last Match-Ups
The Cardinals have matched up against SUNY Cortland twice in program history. The two teams first competed in April of 2021 in Cortland, NY, Fisher came out on top by a score of 13-9. Fisher last saw the Red Dragons at home last season on March 2, 2022. The Cardinals dominated from the start, winning at the end of regulation by a final score of 20-8. Fisher had 11 different goal scorers that night and topped Cortland in every statistical category across the board. The Cardinals look to continue the win streak during their Wednesday night match up.
On Saturday, The Cardinals will compete against their first ranked opponent of the season, No. 14 St. Lawrence University. In the 2021 season the two teams met for the first time in program history in Canton, NY. At the end of regulation the Saints came out on top with 14-10 final score. These two teams competed last season on March 5th, 2022 in Pittsford, NY. Fisher came out on top by a final score of 14-4. At this time Fisher was ranked 7th and the Saints were ranked 11th, so this was a big win for the Cardinals during the 2022 season. The Cardinals look to go 2-1 in the game series on Saturday afternoon.
Players to Watch
Junior goalie, Ben Hammond and Senior defender Brain Jantz received Honorable mention All-American Preseason honors from Inside Lacrosse heading the 2023 season. Hammond finished the 2022 season with a 9.50 goals-against average, a .556 save percentage, and 147 saves. He made double-digit saves in 11 contests. He was named to the Empire 8 All-Conference Second Team and was chosen as the Empire 8 Championship MVP. Jantz finished out the 2022 season voted to the Empire 8 All-Conference First-Team and was as a key member of the No. 1 defensive unit in the E8. He started all 19 games with a long pole, producing 22 ground balls and five caused turnovers.
The Cardinals return Junior attack man Matthew Kemmis. He returns as the highest goal scorer from last season, finishing with 24 goals and eight assists for 32 points in 18 games. Junior Jordan Leuze will also be returning. He finished was season with 16 goals and 23 assists in 19 games. The Cardinals return to the 2023 season with a solid Senior and Junior class to lead the team into another successful season.
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