Top-Seeded Women's Lacrosse Begins Quest For 13th Consecutive E8 Title Against Nazareth On Thursday

What's At Stake

• The Cardinals begin their quest for a 13th consecutive Empire 8 Conference title against East Avenue rival Nazareth on Thursday at Growney Stadium.
• The Cardinals have won 13 consecutive games against Nazareth, which hasn’t won a game in the series since April 2017.
• Fisher has won eight straight E8 postseason games against Nazareth. 
• The winner of Thursday’s game faces No. 2-seeded Geneseo or No. 3-seeded Brockport in the title game on Saturday.

Fisher Streaks

• The Cardinals have won their last 63 games in a row against Empire 8 teams since 2018.
• The Cardinals have won 24 Empire 8 postseason games in a row. 
• The Cardinals have won the E8 and reached the NCAA Tournament every year under head coach Linda Michele, who took over the Fisher program before the 2012 season (note: there was no E8 championship due to COVID-19 in 2020). 
• Fisher has had a winning record in each of the last 15 seasons (14 under Michele). This season marks the Cardinals' 10th with 15 or more wins under Michele.

Milestones Reached and Milestones Ahead 

• Michele, who has 226 career victories (23 came at Brockport in 2010-11), won her 200th game as Fisher’s head coach on April 16 against Brockport. 
• The Cardinals tied the program record for regular-season wins with 16 this season. The 2019 team, which won a program record 19 games, also had 16 victories in the regular season. 
• The Cardinals completed the program’s first unbeaten regular season (16-0 overall, 9-0 Empire 8) with a 22-3 win over Hartwick this past Saturday. 
• Senior midfielder Sydney Carpenter (126 assists and counting) passed Jordan Johnson (122 assists from 2014-17) for Fisher’s all-time assists record in a win over Brockport. 
• Entering postseason play, Carpenter needs just seven more points to pass Taylor Hughes (304 points from 2011-14) for the program’s career points record. She currently ranks second with 298. 
• Carpenter has 172 career goals, good for the fourth-most in Fisher history. 
• Carpenter holds the Fisher and E8 records in draw controls (490). She also ranks fifth in program history in caused turnovers (91) and eighth in ground balls (170). 
• Senior attacker Hanna Kumpf surpassed 100 career goals during the regular season. She enters postseason play tied for 10th in program history with 118 goals. 
• Senior attacker Mary Fiorentino surpassed 100 career goals during the regular season. 
• Fiorentino enters the postseason with 185 career points (tied for eighth in Fisher history) and 72 assists (sixth in Fisher history). 
• Junior defender Maddie Lowney has caused 93 turnovers over the last three seasons, the fourth in Fisher history. Her 170 career draw controls rank sixth in Fisher’s record book. 
• Senior defender Ella Stewart has caused 76 career turnovers, tied for the ninth most in the Cardinals’ record book. 
• Sophomore goalkeeper Kaylee Gadol ranks eighth in Fisher history in career saves with 127. 
• Senior attacker Farrah Zalla and junior midfielder Kaley Griffin surpassed 100 career points during the regular season. 
• Senior midfielder Emma Biel, who leads Fisher in goals (41) entering the postseason, needs just three more points to reach 100 for her career. 
• The Cardinals set the program single-game goals record with 27 in a shutout victory over SUNY Poly on April 12 at Growney Stadium. 
• Sophomore Chelsea Lopata tied the program record for assists (7) in a game and matched the fourth-best mark for single-game points (9) in a 22-3 win over Hartwick to close the regular season. 
• Griffin tied the program’s second-best mark for goals in a game with seven against Brockport.

Other Numbers To Know

• The Cardinals rank second in Division III in scoring defense (4.81 goals allowed per game), clearing percentage (90.5%) and scoring margin (+13.56). 
• The Cardinals rank third in Division III in scoring offense (18.38 goals per game), sixth in points per game (28.38) and eighth in assists per game (10.00). 
• Gadol stands second nationally in goals against average (4.82). 
• The Cardinals have outscored their opponents 294-77 overall and have been particularly dominant in the first quarter of games. They have outscored their opponents by 82 in the opening quarter this season.

About Nazareth

• The Golden Flyers advanced to the E8 Semifinals with a 15-5 victory over Nazareth on Tuesday. Katherine McPeak tallied seven points on four goals and three assists, and goalkeeper Allie Klestinec made 12 saves. 
• Sophia Scialdone leads the Golden Flyers in goals (54, third in the E8), assists (36, tied for third in the E8) and total points (90, most in the E8). 
• Klestinec leads the Empire 8 in saves (164). 
• Kristen Vaccarelli leads the Empire 8 with 68 goals scored. She’s second in the league with 89 total points. 
• Nazareth has the third-highest scoring offense in the Empire 8 (13.3 GPG).

E8 Women's Lacrosse Championship Tournament Central

2025 Empire 8 Women’s Lacrosse Championship Participants
No. 1 – St. John Fisher University (9-0 E8, 16-0 Overall)
No. 2 – SUNY Geneseo (8-1 E8, 11-6 Overall)
No. 3 – SUNY Brockport (7-2 E8, 8-8 Overall)
No. 4 – Nazareth University (6-3 E8, 10-7 Overall)
No. 5 – Hartwick College (5-4 E8, 8-7 Overall)
No. 6 – Utica University (4-5 E8, 7-8 Overall)

2025 Empire 8 Women’s Lacrosse Championship Schedule

Tuesday, April 29 – First Round
No. 3 SUNY Brockport defeated No. 6 Utica University, 16-2 – BOX SCORE
No. 4 Nazareth University defeated No. 5 Hartwick College, 15-5 – BOX SCORE

Thursday, May 1 – Semifinals (at Higher Seed)
No. 4 Nazareth at No. 1 St. John Fisher University – 4 p.m. – VIDEO/LIVE STATS
No. 3 SUNY Brockport at No. 2 SUNY Geneseo – 4:30 p.m. – VIDEO/LIVE STATS

Saturday, May 3 – Championship (at Highest Remaining Seed)
Winner of Semifinal #1 vs. Winner of Semifinal #2 – TBA

Admission

$6.00 - Adults

$4.00 - Students and seniors with ID

Free - Children under 12