Naz Wins in OT; Fisher and Hartwick Win on Senior Day

Naz Wins in OT; Fisher and Hartwick Win on Senior Day

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ST. JOHN FISHER 18, ELMIRA 1
The nationally-ranked St. John Fisher College women's lacrosse cruised to a decisive 18-1 victory over visiting Elmira College on Senior Day at Growney Stadium.  Fisher has secured the number two seed in the Empire 8 Tournament next weekend after Nazareth College defeated Stevens Institute, 12-11 in overtime.

With the win, the Cardinals, ranked 18th in the nation to improve to 12-4 on the year and 5-1 in the Empire 8 Conference, while the Soaring Eagles fall to 5-11 on the season and 2-5 in the conference.

Fisher would score the first 11 goals of the game, with the first six coming from different players.  Sierra Badger got it going early with her 27th goal of the season nearly four minutes into the game, and would be on the helping end of Jill Zerrillo's goal less than a minute later to give Fisher a 2-0 lead.

The Cardinals would score three of their final four first half goals on free-position opportunities, with Erin Ward, Taylor Hughes, and Sam Barton finding the back of the net.Caroline Trpcevski made four saves in net for the Cardinals, before turning it over to sophomore Nicole Hart in the second half.  Elmira scored its only goal of the game with just under a minute to play in the first half to make it 11-1 going into the break.

Fisher would outscore Elmira 7-0 in the second half, as the Cardinals defense did not allow a shot in the entire frame.  Freshman Abbie Reed scored her first career goal early in the second half, and Blythe Sheridan picked up her first goal of the season minutes later.

Barton, Badger, and Hughes led the offense with three goals each, while Ward also recorded three assists and four pointsl in the win. Trpcevski and Hart combined to save four of the five shots on net.   Trpcevski improved to 9-4 on the season.


NAZARETH 12, STEVENS 11 (OT)
Host Nazareth scored three times in the final 4:48 of regulation to tie Stevens, 11-11, and force overtime. Junior Suzie Gray scored the game-winner with 1:57 to play in overtime to lift the Golden Flyers to the Empire 8 Conference victory over the visiting Ducks on Saturday afternoon. Trailing 11-8, sophomore Carly Gates had a pair of goals sandwiched around a goal by junior Brianna Mancini. Gates' scored the game-tying goal with 32.2 seconds to play in the fourth quarter.

With the victory, Nazareth improves to 8-7 overall and 5-2 in conference games. The Golden Flyers also move into third in the standings. Ithaca, ranked 16th nationally, stands in first at 7-0, followed by St. John Fisher, who is currently 5-1 in conference games. With the loss, Stevens slides to fourth in the standings.

Nazareth and Stevens traded goals through the opening 23 minutes of the second half to leave the Ducks ahead 11-8 before the pair of goals by Gates around Mancini's score in the final minutes of regulation. Gates' first goal was unassisted, while Gray assisted on Mancini's goal and junior Izzy Wittmaack assisted on Gates' game-tying score. After just over four minutes of scoreless action in overtime, Gray found the back of the Ducks' net after receiving a pass from senior Kelsey McNaboe. Stevens had the possession in the closing seconds of overtime, however, Nazareth's defenders prevented the Ducks from passing to cutters in front of the goal and preventing drives to the net. The Ducks managed a final shot toward the Golden Flyers' net before the buzzer sounded, but senior goalie Tara Prosak collected it to secure the victory.

Senior Emily Rothrock broke the scoreless tie 2:08 into the first half by converting a free position shot. Stevens answered with a trio of goals in a 50-second span to take a 3-1 lead. Erika Wilcox scored first for the Ducks followed by a pair of goals by Caitlyn Hughes. The Golden Flyers answered with their own string of three goals in a run span of 4:55. Junior Brooke Sullivan scored 4:33 into the period to cut Nazareth's deficit to 3-2 before Gates tied the game 1:11 later. Sullivan capped the run with a free position shot about four minutes later to briefly reclaim the lead.

Stevens took a 9-6 lead at the break by outscoring the Golden Flyers 6-2 in the final 18:41 of the period. Wilcox and Rafferty each had two goals for the Ducks while Caroline DeLuca and Mariel Haubrich both had one tally. Nazareth's goals were scored by freshman Hayley Spoljaric, who earned a free position shot after clearing the ball from the Golden Flyers' defensive zone and running through the Ducks' defenders, and Mancini, who received a pass from Gates in front of the Stevens' goal.

Sullivan scored 5:46 into the second to trim Nazareth's deficit to two goals. Emily Rothrock was credited with the assist on Sullivan's goal. The score remained 9-7 for over 15 minutes before Stevens' Mackenzie Swartout found the back of the Golden Flyers' net. Less than a minute later, senior Amy McIntosh scored for Nazareth after taking a pass from Sullivan. Wilcox's goal with 7:17 to play in regulation provided the Ducks the 11-8 advantage.

During their rally, the Golden Flyers thought they had an additional goal from Sullivan but it was wiped out by a Stevens' foul. Nazareth was awarded a free position chance, but the attempt went wide of the goal.

Prosak finished with 10 saves to earn the victory while Stevens' Janelle Welkie was credited with four saves. The Golden Flyers enjoyed advantages in shots (27-23) and ground balls collected (13-10). The Ducks took command of draw controls by winning 19 of 27 opportunities.


HARTWICK 16, ALFRED 6
Hartwick, powered by a career-high seven goals from Ali Sisco, routed visiting Alfred 16-6 to claim its first Empire 8 win on Senior Day at Wright Stadium. 'Wick closes its season with a 6-10 mark overall and a 1-6 showing in league play.
           
Sisco tallied five of the Hawks' seven first-half goals, including three in the opening 15 minutes to key the win.Lauren Rosenberg contributed three goals on the day and Emily Jweid scored once and recorded a game-high three assists.
           
Both teams had chances in the early going but Hartwick goalkeeper Steph Luce and Alfred keeper Taylor Tarajos kept the game even for nearly nine minutes.
           
Sisco broke the ice at 21:11 off a Jweid feed and just 2:05 later, Ference made it a 2-0 game with an unassisted tally.
           
Back-to-back goals from Sisco 1:19 apart extended the Hawks' advantage to four with 16:21 left in the half. Margaret Heinen got one back for Alfred but the Hawks would tally three times in a 3:30 span to get the lead to six. Sisco scored two of the goals in the span and Meagan Wright added one.
           
The Saxons closed out the first-half scoring with just over four minutes remaining and 'Wick entered the intermission up 7-2.
           
Goals from Sisco and Rosenberg made it a 9-2 lead for the Hawks early in the second half. The Saxons answered with two of their own in 52 seconds to trim the margin to five.

The Hawks would control the final 20 minutes to pull away as they scored seven of the game's final nine goals. Jweid, Wright, Rosenberg, and Sisco each scored in less than eight minutes to open up a 13-5 edge with 12:02 to play.
            
Luce, who was relieved of goalkeeping duties by April Hargy after 50 minutes of action, took to the field and promptly scored the first goal of her career at 5:08.
            
After Kaitlyn Button, who led Alfred on the day with three goals, scored Alfred's final goal with 2:55 left, Rosenberg netted her team-best 43rd goal of the season at 2:13. Courtney Coons closed out the scoring with a free-position tally with 1:13 left on the clock.
           
Hartwick forced a season-high 20 caused turnovers in today's game. The Hawks out-shot the Saxons 33-19 and won the draw control battle, 15-9. AU had the edge in ground balls, 35-31.
           
Caroline Stanford, who is the Empire 8 Conference leader in caused turnovers, tacked on a game-high six in the game. She also tied a season-high with six ground balls. Sisco also had six ground balls to go along with four caused turnovers. Wright contributed four caused turnovers and five ground balls.
           
Jweid, the conference leader in draw controls, registered a game-high 10 today. Defender Mandy Van Auken added four ground balls and two caused turnovers for the Hawks.
            
Steph Luce made eight saves in 50 minutes in cage. Hargy stopped a pair of shots and Carla Centanni made one save for 'Wick.
 

UTICA 12, Houghton 4
The Utica College women's lacrosse team set a new program record for wins in a single season after defeating host Houghton 12-4 on Saturday afternoon.  Utica's Megan Kane (Staten Island, NY/Tottenville) netted five goals and added one assist, while Morgan DuPont (Wynantskill, NY/Averill Park) set a new single-game school-record with six assists.

Kane and DuPont currently lead the team with 52 points each.  DuPont's 43 assists this season are a new school-record.  Kane's 42 goals this season are a new career-high and it also ranks ninth on the College's single season list.

Rebecca Plunkett (Kings Park, NY/Kings Park) also added two goals for UC, while Louise Steele-Norton (Avondale, PA/Millbrook School), Coleen Dowling, Courtney Wheeler(Ava, NY/Rome Free Academy), Julia Primps (Ossining, NY/Ossining) and Vanessa Maines (Boxborough, MA/Acton-Boxborough Regional) netted one goal apiece. Plunkett is tied for the team lead and ninth all-time with 42 goals this season. She ranks third on the squad with 47 total points.

Erin Jacobson (Staten Island, NY/Curtis) stopped four shots in the victory.  Freshman Tewasherake Barnes (Akwesasne, NY/Salmon River) finished off the contest in net for Utica.  

Utica outshot Houghton 34-13 on the afternoon and the Pioneers also won the draw control battle 12-6.