Fisher Moves On To The Empire 8 Conference Championship Game With Win Over Alfred
PITTSFORD, N.Y. –The No. 2 seeded St. John Fisher College men's lacrosse is moving on to the Empire 8 Championship game, after defeating the No. 3 seeded Alfred University by a score of 15-9 at Growney Stadium on Wednesday evening. The Cardinals will play in the conference championship game for the first time since 2014, where they will take on the top seeded Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken N.J., on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. With the win, Fisher improves to 12-5 overall on the season, while the Saxons finish up their 2018 campaign at 9-7 overall.
For fans who are unable to make the trip to Hoboken, N.J. on Saturday, please use the links below to follow all the action live.
The Cardinal offense quickly scored first after the opening whistle, as
Zach Wagner notched his 25
th of the season from
Jack Mulvihill just 35 seconds into the game.
Nicholas Miller followed with his 39
th of the season just over a minute later, with
Chance Gates picking up the assist this time around. Senior
Andrew Rosso was next at the 6:24 mark, also notching his 39
th of the season off of a feed from
Brennan O'Brien, giving Fisher the early 3-0 lead.
The Saxons fought back over the next three minutes, as the visitors scored twice in less than two minutes to cut the Cardinal lead back to one.
However, before the first quarter horn sounded, Rosso blasted a quick shot from the left side of the Alfred cage putting the Cardinals back up two goals heading into the second 15 minutes.
The Saxons were first to strike in the second quarter, putting away three straight goals within the first seven minutes of the quarter, giving them their first lead of the game at 5-4.
Both sides traded goals back-and-forth over the remaining five minutes of the second quarter, as Gates scored his first of the day at the 5:05 mark. Alfred regained a one goal lead for a second time at the 1:45 mark, which was followed by game-tying goal from Wagner with just eight seconds remaining in the quarter. The Cardinals and Saxons brought a six to six tie into the locker room, with Fisher leading in shots 13 to eight.
To start the third quarter, it was the Saxons scoring first for the second straight quarter, just 12 seconds in right off of a faceoff win giving them another one goal lead.
Fisher however stormed back to take a two goal lead with three straight goals in a two-and-a-half-minute span, with two goals from Gates and one from
Danny Turck.
A lone Saxon goal cut the lead back to one, however it was sort lived as Rosso and Turk each found the back of the net to put the Cardinals ahead by three heading into the final quarter.
Fisher's scoring didn't stop at the start the fourth quarter, as the Cardinals opened up the game with another three consecutive goals from Wagner, Rosso, and
Austin Jobson on the man-up advantage.
With the home side leading 14-9, Alfred scored once more at the 2:32 mark, while Rosso added his fourth goal and seventh point of the day to close out the game for Fisher giving them an 8-1 finishing record at home this season.
Aside from Rosso's seven-point performance, Gates notched five of his own, while Wagner and Turk each added three apiece. Defensively, Fisher was led by
Kyle O'Dea who caused a game-high five turnovers, while
Joe Post grabbed a team high seven ground balls and finished 13 for 26 in the faceoff circle.
Senior goalkeeper
Justin Townsend came up huge for the Cardinals many times throughout the game, finishing with 10 saves and earning his 12
th win of the season.
The men's lacrosse team will look to win its first Empire 8 Conference championship on Saturday, when they travel to Hoboken, N.J. to take on Stevens in the Empire 8 Championship game at 5:30 p.m.