How They Got Here
St. John Fisher: A second-quarter surge propelled the No. 2-seeded St. John Fisher men's lacrosse team to a 14-7 victory over No. 1-seeded Nazareth in the Empire 8 Conference Championship last Saturday at the Golden Flyers' NLPA Field.
The Cardinals secured their seventh consecutive Empire 8 title and an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Men's Lacrosse Tournament with the victory, which avenged their 12-7 regular-season loss to the Golden Flyers. Additionally, St. John Fisher improved to 6-1 in conference championship games against its East Avenue rival.
The Cardinals matched the program record for wins in a season (17) with the victory, which marked their 14th in a row in the Empire 8 Tournament. Fisher moved to 15-1 overall in Empire 8 Tournament games under head coach Dave Dobbins.
Senior midfielder Lane Edinger and freshman midfielder Hayden Lauer each tallied two goals and a pair of assists to lead the Cardinals offensively. Junior attackman Scott Bovard found the back of the cage a team-high three times, while junior midfielder Sean Donaldson also had three points, scoring twice and tallying an assist. Senior midfielder Brett Seaman (two goals), junior attacker Garrett Sutton (one goal, one assist) and freshman midfielder Grady Swidersky (two assists) contributed two points each.
The Empire 8 named St. John Fisher senior goalkeeper Tyler Manning its Tournament MVP. Manning made a season-high 18 saves while anchoring a defense that clamped down on a Nazareth team that had scored 20 or more goals in nine of its previous 10 games entering Saturday's championship. The Golden Flyers' seven goals marked their fewest since a 19-7 loss to Cortland on March 11.
The Cardinals advanced to the Empire 8 title game for the eighth season in a row and 10th time overall with an 18-9 victory over No. 3-seeded SUNY Geneseo last Thursday at Growney Stadium. Fisher outscored Geneseo 16-3 after falling behind by four, 6-2, in the first quarter. Junior attackman Garrett Sutton powered the Cardinals on the offensive end with a career-high seven total points, six of them coming on goals. Edinger scored five goals, while Donaldson tallied four total points on three goals and an assist.
Manning finished with nine saves. The Cardinals' defense had a spectacular second half, holding the Knights to just one goal.
The Cardinals ended the regular season 15-2 overall with an 8-1 mark in conference play, earning the No. 2 seed for the Empire 8 Tournament. Along the way, they picked up marquee non-conference wins over Ithaca, St. Lawrence, Hamilton and SUNY Cortland, all teams that made the NCAA Tournament.
Fisher’s lone losses during the regular season came on March 18 against then-No. 10 RIT and on April 18 against Nazareth. The Cardinals have been ranked as high as No. 9 in the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Coaches Association Top 20.
Williams: The Ephs earned an at-large bid to the tournament for the second year in a row and the third time in the last four years. They finished the regular season with a 3-7 mark in New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) play.
Wesleyan: This marks the 11th NCAA Tournament appearance for Wesleyan, which won the school's first-ever team National Championship in 2018. The 2025 NESCAC runner-up went 11-3 in the regular season and spent much of the season ranked inside the Top 10 nationally. The Cardinals finished the season ranked No. 5 in the NCAA's National Power Index (NPI), earning Wesleyan hosting rights for the opening weekend of the NCAA Tournament.
Ohio Northern: Ohio Northern advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament with a 16-4 victory over Concordia Wisconsin in a play-in game earlier this week. The Polar Bears, who won the Ohio Athletic Conference, are making just their second apperance in the NCAA Tournament.
