PITTSFORD, N.Y. – The nationally ranked St. John Fisher women's lacrosse team continued its historic run of Empire 8 dominance with a 13-6 victory over No. 2-seeded SUNY Geneseo in the conference championship game on Saturday evening at Growney Stadium.
The No. 1-seeded and unbeaten Cardinals (18-0) wrapped up their 13th consecutive E8 title (15th overall) and punched their ticket to the NCAA Division III Women's Lacrosse Tournament with the victory. Geneseo, easily the toughest conference opponent for Fisher all year, finished its season 12-7 overall.
The Empire 8 named St. John Fisher junior Kaley Griffin the tournament's Most Valuable Player. She had seven points on six goals and one assist to go along with nine draw controls over two games. She had a goal, an assist and controlled seven draws in the championship final.
Saturday's contest played out similarly to the regular-season meeting between the teams back on April 9, a 14-7 Fisher victory. They traded blows in the first 30 minutes before the Cardinals overwhelmed the Knights in the second half.
Geneseo struck first on an unassisted tally from Alaina Reina before seniors Farrah Zalla, Mary Fiorentino and Hanna Kumpf scored in quick succession to give the Cardinals a 3-1 lead.
Later in the half, after Zalla and Fiorentino scored their second goals of the game, Geneseo went on a quick 2-0 run to tie the game at five.
The game's pivotal moment came in the final 10 seconds of the half, when senior Emma Biel, Fisher's leading scorer, buried a free-position shot to put the Cardinals back in front 6-5.
Fisher stayed ahead the rest of the way.
The Cardinals outgunned the Knights 7-1 in the second half, scoring six of those goals in a row after Geneseo pulled within one, 7-6, with 7:34 remaining in the quarter.
Fiorentino, who led the Cardinals with four goals, and Kumpf, who found the back of the net three times, each scored twice in the second half. Biel, Griffin and Lopata each netted a goal apiece.
Lopata, who had five assists, finished with a team-high six points. Biel had five on two goals and three assists.
Zalla and senior defender Ella Stewart each caused three turnovers. Junior defender Maddie Lowney controlled six draws.
Senior goalkeeper Kaylee Gadol made eight saves, one shy of her season high.
Game Notes
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The Cardinals have won 65 consecutive games against E8 teams.
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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 is 26-0 in the E8 tournament under Michele.
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Lopata has tallied at least five points in each of the Cardinals' last four games. She has 26 total points on seven goals and an impressive 19 assists in that span.
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Lopata's 38 assists are the fifth most by a Fisher player in a season.
Up Next
The Cardinals will watch the NCAA Division III Women's Lacrosse Selection Show as a team on Monday. It will air live on NCAA.com at 10:30 a.m.
