Cardinals to Face Lions in NCAA Tournament

Cardinals to Face Lions in NCAA Tournament

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The St. John Fisher College women's lacrosse team will face The College of New Jersey at 1 p.m. on Sunday, May 10 in the Second Round of NCAA Division III Championship.  The game will be played at TCNJ in Ewing, N.J.

This marks the fourth straight year and the sixth time since 2007 Fisher has advanced to the NCAA Division III Championship.  

Fisher (14-5) won its fourth straight Empire 8 Conference title on Sunday, doubling up Ithaca College, 10-5, in the title game.

The Lions (16-3) are making their 31st straight appearance in the national tournament and earned an automatic bid by winning the New Jersey Athletic Conference Tournament with a 14-5 win over Rowan University over the weekend.

This will be the second time Fisher and TCNJ have met in women's lacrosse.  The Lions defeated Fisher 15-1 in March of 2004.   Both Fisher and TCNJ have one similar opponent on the year, Stevens Institute of Technology.  Fisher defeated Stevens 11-7 in the regular season and won 10-7 on Saturday in the Empire 8 semifinals.   The Lions defeated Stevens 7-5 back on April 9th.

Led by fourth-year head coach Linda Michele, who owns a 59-19 record in her career at Fisher, the Cardinals have experience on both offense and defense.

Senior Samantha Barton leads Fisher with 41 goals and 23 caused turnovers, while classmate Lindsey Shoales, the Empire8 Championship MVP, leads her team with 36 draw controls, and is third on the team in ground balls and caused turnover.

Senior Erin Ward also ranks among the team-leader in scoring with 24 goals and nine goals.

Sophomore Jordan Johnson leads Fisher with 52 points on 39 goals and 13 assists.   Junior Sierra Badger is second on the team in draw controls with 48, while totaling 36 goals and eight assists.  Classmate Chrissy Cook has 24 ground balls and 18 goals on the year.

Freshman Kennedy Frink leads the team with 27 assists.

Defensively, seniors Kristina Lombard and Brittany Didio have been solid throughout the year, while sophomore Abbie Reed has emerged as a key defender.   Nicole Hart has started in a goal in 16 games this season and leads the team in saves and wins.