PITTSFORD, N.Y. – The No. 24 St. John Fisher women's lacrosse team scored 13 unanswered goals over the second, third and fourth quarters to run away from Utica in a 16-4 victory on Wednesday evening at Growney Stadium. 

The Cardinals improved to 6-3 overall (2-0 Empire 8 Conference) with the victory, their fourth in a row, while the Pioneers fell to 5-3 overall (1-1 Empire 8 Conference).

The Cardinals played stifling defense from start to finish, causing a single-game program record 24 turnovers. Senior midfielder Kaley Griffin and sophomore defenders Addison Peters and Chelsea Mesick each caused three, while senior defender Maddie Lowney, junior defender Leah Hilton, sophomore defender Emily DeVoe, sophomore attacker Chloe Scanlan and senior attacker Megan McGrath recorded two apiece. 

Junior attacker Ellie Leisen led Fisher with a career-high five goals. Griffin totaled four points on three goals and an assist, while junior attacker Chelsea Lopata added four points of her own with two goals and two assists.

Scanlan and senior attacker Dharma Makarowsky each scored twice and had an assist for three points. Megan McGrath contributed a goal and an assist. 

How It Happened

The Cardinals and Pioneers traded goals early, with each team scoring twice in the opening quarter. Griffin and Makarowsky struck for Fisher, while Maria Stuhlman and Alexis Alteri answered for Utica.

Griffin put Fisher back in front, 3-2, about six minutes into the second quarter. Utica briefly pulled even once more before the Cardinals took control. Leisen, Lopata and Scanlan each scored before halftime, sending Fisher into the break with a 6-3 lead.

The Cardinals broke the game open in the third, stretching the margin to 13-3 behind a dominant offensive surge. Leisen scored three more times in the quarter, while Makarowsky, McGrath, Griffin and Lopata each added a goal.

Leisen tallied her fifth goal of the day in the fourth. Mesick and Scanlan accounted for the other two Fisher tallies in the frame. 

Game Notes

• Leisen has now tallied five points or more in four games this season, including each of the last two. 

• Griffin recorded her third four-point performance of the season.

• Lopata has scored two or more goals in each of the four games she has played in this season. Since making her season debut last Tuesday against Cortland, she has 17 points on 11 goals and six assists. 

• Makarowsky has scored at least two goals in seven of the Cardinals' nine games. 

• Senior defender Maddie Lowney collected six draw controls, marking her third game this season with six or more. She pushed her career caused turnover total to 132, four shy of breaking the program record. 

• Junior goalkeeper Maggie Cross played 40-plus minutes and made three saves. 

Up Next

The Cardinals face Alfred University at 1 p.m. on Saturday in Alfred, N.Y.