ONEONTA, N.Y — Freshman attackman Grady Swidersky tallied nine points on two goals and seven assists to power the St. John Fisher University men's lacrosse team to a 24-7 victory over Hartwick in the final game of the regular season on Saturday afternoon at Wright Stadium.
The Cardinals, ranked No. 8 in the latest NCAA Power Index (NPI), a ranking system used in Division III to select and seed teams for national tournaments, improved to 15-2 overall and 8-1 in Empire 8 Conference play. Hartwick dropped to 5-10 overall (5-4 E8) with the loss.
Swidersky matched the program's third-highest single-game totals for points and assists with his offensive outburst. Senior midfielder Lane Edinger followed Swidersky's lead, setting career highs with seven total points and five goals. He added a pair of assists.
Eight other Cardinals racked up two points or more, with senior midfielder Nick Hauman (three goals, two assists), junior midfielder Robbie Salit (two goals, three assists) and junior attackman Scott Bovard (four goals, one assist) piling up five points. Junior attackman Garrett Sutton (one goal, three assists) recorded four points, while junior midfielder Sean Donaldson (two goals, one assist) and sophomore attackman Tyson DeLisio (two goals, one assist) contributed three apiece.
Junior attackman Carter Van Holland (one goal, one assist) and senior midfielder Brett Seaman (one goal, one assist) chipped in two points each.
Three of the Cardinals' goalkeepers logged action, with senior Tyler Manning leading the way with five saves. Freshman Jackson Frame stopped a season-high four shots.
How It Happened
The Cardinals hammered the Hawks with 14 unanswered goals after a 2-1 start, a run that spanned the final 10 minutes of the opening quarter and the first four minutes of the second frame. Fisher went into halftime with a 17-3 lead.
Edinger had four goals and both of his assists in the first half, while Swidersky had both of his goals and six of his seven assists.
The Cardinals stretched their advantage to 23-4 in the third quarter with six more goals, including two from Hauman and one from Edinger, DeLisio, Salit and sophomore attacker Graham Kesselring.
Seaman scored the Cardinals' lone goal in the fourth quarter before Hartwick added three of its seven tallies.
Game Notes
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Swidersky currently has 34 assists, the seventh most by a Cardinal in a single season.
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Edinger recorded his fifth game of the season with five points or more.
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Hauman set a season high for goals (3) and matched his season high for points (5).
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Salit matched his season high with five points.
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Bovard recorded his fourth game of the season with five-plus points.
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The Cardinals won 28 of the game's 35 faceoffs, with senior Bryce Riffel going a team-best 14-of-17 at the X. Freshman Jonah Vormwald finished 13-of-15 with a game-high 10 ground balls.
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Sophomore defender Luke James caused a team-high four turnovers.
Up Next
The Cardinals have the No. 2 seed and a first-round bye for the upcoming Empire 8 Conference Championship Tournament. They will host a semifinal game at Growney Stadium on Thursday, April 30 (game time and opponent TBD).
