Men's Lacrosse | 3/19/2022 2:34:00 PM
MEADVILLE, PA – Nicholas Miller scored four times on Saturday to break the Empire 8's all-time record for career goals as the No. 6 St. John Fisher College men's lacrosse team earned its third win against a nationally-ranked opponent after outlasting No. 20 Ursinus College, 14-12, at Patterson Field. With the win, Fisher improved to 5-0 while the Bears fell to 3-4 on the season.
Miller, who now owns 193 career tallies, broke Nazareth's Luke Wooters mark, which was set in 2016. Over four-plus seasons, Miller, who has been named an All-American in each of the last four years, has accumulated a program-record 278 career points in 64 career games.
The Ithaca native posted a game-high five points on 13 shots to go along with three ground balls while Tucker O'Donnell finished with a goal and three assists in the midfield. Ian Evans scored two goals and assisted on another while Jordan Depetres netted two goals on four shots. Jack Mulvihill, Brennan O'Brien, Matthew Kemmis, Jordan Leuze, Jacob Gallina each scored one goal while Timmy Salit had two assists in the win.
Joe Post led the faceoff game for the Cardinals after winning 19-of-28 attempts and scooping up 14 ground balls.
After starting the second half trailing by two goals, Fisher quickly drew even in the third quarter when Miller hit Evans in front for a goal to make it 8-7 before Mulvihill threaded a pass on the opposite side to Miller who found the back of the net and tied things up at eight goals apiece.
As the quarter wore on, Ursinus jumped back in front, but was unable to hold the lead as Fisher closed out the quarter with a goal from Miller to make it 9-9 heading into the final period.
With 15 minutes showing on the clock, Fisher went to work and scored back-to-back goals in a span of 1:16 to open up its largest lead of the game, 11-9.
From there, the home team countered with a run of its own as the Bears turned a two-goal gap into a one-goal lead with three straight marks to hold a 12-11 edge.
Trailing by one with time wearing thin, Fisher took advantage of an extra-man opportunity when Mulvihill blew through the defense and scored to level the game at 12-12. With just over three minutes to play in regulation, the Cardinals made Ursinus pay for another cross-check as Miller scored another man-up goal that gave the visitors the lead for good.
Leading 13-12 with under three minutes to play, O'Donnell afforded Fisher some breathing room with a goal as the Cardinals' defense shut the Bears down over the final four minutes to remain unbeaten on the season.
In goal, sophomore Ben Hammond, who was named the Empire 8's Goalie of the Week on Monday, moved to 5-0 after making 13 saves over 60 minutes of play.
The lacrosse world will turn its eyes to Wednesday night as the Cardinals host defending national champion, No. 2 RIT in a top-10 showdown inside Growney Stadium. The game is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.