Women's Lacrosse | 4/30/2024 11:30:00 AM

PITTSFORD, N.Y. – The St. John Fisher University women's lacrosse team has won 11 straight Empire 8 titles and 13 overall. Now, they'll have a chance to make those numbers 12 and 14 in the 2024 Empire 8 Conference Women's Lacrosse Championship Tournament, beginning on Wednesday.

The Cardinals enter the four-team tournament as the No. 1 seed, holding an overall record of 9-7 and a perfect conference record of 6-0. As a result, they'll host both Wednesday's semifinal game against No. 4 Hartwick (7:00 P.M.) and will also host Saturday's championship game should they advance. 
 
Here's what you need to know:

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Last Time Out
Fisher ended the regular season with a 21-0 shutout of Sage College in Albany on Saturday, as 13 different Cardinals notched at least one goal and 15 recorded a point of any kind. Junior midfielder Sydney Carpenter led the way, scoring four times. Freshmen Maggie Cross and Emma Batko combined for the shutout in goal, each playing 30 minutes. 
 
Championship History
The Cardinals' run of 11 straight Empire 8 titles goes back all the way to 2012: the only time they haven't won the conference title since came in 2020 due to the season's COVID-19 cancelation. The run is even more remarkable when one considers that the two most recent non-Fisher teams to win the conference, Stevens and Ithaca, are no longer in the Empire 8. In fact, the last team currently in the Empire 8 other than St. John Fisher to win a women's lacrosse title was Nazareth in 2006- when this year's freshman class was in diapers! 
 
Last season, Fisher earned the title by beating Nazareth, 10-5, in the finals. 
 
Know Your Foe: Hartwick
Entering the tournament with a 7-7 overall record and a 3-3 mark in the conference, the fourth-seeded Hartwick College Hawks placed third among conference teams in goals-per-game this season (12.86). They are led offensively by junior Kristen Vaccarelli, who is second in the Empire 8 in both goals (57) and goals per game (4.07). On the defensive end, Vaccarelli is also a threat, sitting fifth in conference in caused turnovers per game (1.86). 

Fisher won this year's regular season contest with Hartwick, 19-2, on March 29. 
 
Fun fact: Hartwick was originally founded as a seminary.
 
Possible Finals Foes
If Fisher wins on Wednesday, they'll host the winner of the Utica/Nazareth semi-final. 
 
The No. 2 seed Utica Pioneers stands at 13-3 overall and 5-1 in conference play. Utica has been the highest-scoring Empire 8 team this season, averaging 15.19 goals per game. They are led offensively by Grace Stuhlman, who has 52 goals and is fourth in the conference in goals per game (3.25). Fisher beat Utica in this season's regular season game, 18-3.
 
Seeded third, Nazareth is 7-9 overall and 4-2 in E8 play. Although in the bottom half of the league in goals per game (fifth, with 9.94), the Golden Flyers have been aided by good goalie play. At the end of the regular season, the Flyers as a team were first in the conference in saves per game (12.13) and save percentage (.491). Offensively, Nazareth is led by Kate Metzler, who has 42 goals and is fifth in the conference in goals per game (2.63). Fisher won the regular season matchup, 19-6. 
 
Salute to Sydney
One of the main offensive leaders for the Cardinals this season has been junior midfielder Sydney Carpenter. The Hilton graduate leads the Cardinals in goals (42), assists (26), and points (68). She's second in the conference in assists per game (1.63) and tied for second for points per game (4.25). When playing against conference foes, however, she's even better: she leads the Empire 8 in 6.17 points per conference game and is second in both goals per conference game (3.67) and assists per conference game (2.50). 
 
Gadol in Goal
Freshman Kaylee Gadol has been the main Fisher goalkeeper this season, starting all but two of the team's games and playing in all but one of them. She has been especially sharp against Empire 8 opponents, allowing just 3.41 goals per conference game and holding a .565 save percentage against conference opponents. Both are the best in the league among the usual starting goalies. 
 
What Comes Next
A conference victory will ensure an automatic bid into the NCAA Division III Women's Lacrosse tournament, set to run from May 11 through May 28. 
 
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