Men's Lacrosse | 5/12/2022 2:00:00 PM
PITTSFORD, N.Y. – For the third consecutive season, the nationally-ranked St. John Fisher College men's lacrosse team will compete for a national championship as the Cardinals, who are ranked fourth in the latest United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association poll, will travel to Medford, Mass. at 4 p.m. on Saturday to take on No. 22 Catholic University in the second round of the NCAA Division III Championship at Tufts University.
Those unable to make their way to the Boston area can still cheer on the Cardinals from anywhere with an internet connection by clicking the links below:
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RUNNING THE GAUNTLET: 38 teams will compete in this year's national tournament, however, one side of the bracket is much deeper than the other. The Cardinals' pod alone features three top 25 teams including two top four programs in Fisher and Tufts. For Fisher to reach the Elite Eight, it would have to contend with No. 22 Catholic and No. 4 Tufts before possibly facing either No. 1 Salisbury or No. 12 Cabrini. It doesn't get any easier from there with No. 2 RIT, No. 9 Bowdoin, No. 10 St. Lawrence, No. 13 MIT and No. 15 Amherst all potentially advancing.
JUMBO MATCHUP LOOMING: They say an elephant never forgets…well, in the case, it may be the Cardinals who have a long memory. Last season, Tufts made its way to Growney Stadium and ended Fisher's season behind a 19-15 victory before falling in the Final Four to the eventual national champion, RIT Tigers. It was a back-and-forth game from the get-go with Fisher eventually pulling ahead 7-4 in the second quarter before a 6-1 run gave the Jumbos a 10-8 lead at the break. From there, Tufts bridged the third and fourth quarters with five unanswered goals and never looked back. Flash forward nearly a year to the day and the Cardinals hope to return the favor on Tufts' home field.
RECORDS ETCHED IN WOOD: Joe post is no stranger to seeing his name atop a record book as the Canandaigua native entered his fifth year as the program's all-time leader in ground balls and faceoff wins. This season proved a bit more special, however, as Post broke two long-standing NCAA Division III records after becoming its all-time leader in both ground balls (834) and faceoff wins (1,217) – both of which he will have a chance to add to this weekend.
What makes these records perhaps even more special to the Post family is that Joe did it all using handcrafted wooden shafts that his father, Tom, created at Joe's request.
ALL-CARDINALS LIST: The Empire 8 released its All-Conference teams on Monday with Fisher making up nearly 40 percent of those honored. In all, 15 student-athletes were recognized for their individual performances on the field while Post was named the league's Player of the Year. Additionally, head coach
Dave Dobbins, alongside
Mike Perrino,
Mark Rice,
Craig Whipple,
Jeff Schwartz,
Daniel James,
Kyle O'Dea,
Kyle Denhoff and Duffy McKenna were named the Empire 8 Coaching Staff of the Year. Nicholas Miller, Jordan Depetres, Jack Mulvihill, Brian Jantz, Kyle Rochester, Roger Panara, Ian Evans, Matt Jeffries and Post were each named First-Team All-Conference while Ben Hammond and Tucker O'Donnell were named Second-Team. Matthew Kemmis, Brennan O'Brien, Matthew Delaney and Logan Grom were named Third-Team All-Empire 8.
A DEFENSE'S NIGHTMARE: Entering the postseason, few teams can match the firepower of the Cardinals. Through 17 games this season, Fisher leads Division III in points per game with 33 while its 20.24 goals per game ranks second. Furthermore, Fisher has almost been as close to a guarantee on the man-up as possible as it ranks third in the nation after scoring on over 53 percent of its chances.
PICK YOUR POISON: So far this season, it's been difficult to shut down the Cardinals' high-powered offense as the team features a multitude of players who can score in bunches. Entering this weekend's NCAA Championship, Fisher boasts four players with at least 50 points led by the program's all-time leader in goals, points and assists in Miller who has 51 goals and a career-high 47 assists. Fellow All-American Ian Evans has scored a team-leading 57 goals and has handed out 23 assists while Depetres has become a big-time scoring option with 56 points in all including 43 goals. Mulvihill, who recently scored his 100th career goal, has 31 tallies and 23 dimes while O'Donnell and Jordan Leuze have combined to contribute 81 points in all.
GUARDIANS OF THE GOAL: It's tough to think of a better combination of poles than Rochester, Delaney and Jantz. Over 17 games, the trio has been a wall allowing just over eight goals per game this season – the 23rd lowest total in Division III. All of this while playing one of the more difficult schedules in the country that included eight teams either ranked or receiving votes. Additionally, Hammond has grown into one of the top goalies in the country in just his sophomore season. A four-time Empire 8 Goalie of the Week this season, the Manlius native is 15-2 between the pipes with an 8.46 goals against average and a .581 save percentage.
SCOUTING CATHOLIC: No. 22 Catholic enters this weekend having reached the NCAA Championship for the fourth time in team history after defeating Elizabethtown, 16-8, in the Landmark Conference title game. The Cardinals are 13-4 and have also played a difficult schedule that included No. 20 Washington and Lee, No. 19 Colorado College, No. 4 Christopher Newport, and No. 1 Salisbury.
Like Fisher, Catholic features a deep offense with Kevin Crowley leading the charge with 74 points on a team-high 48 goals. Sean Baudo has 54 points over 17 games while Joe Rockovich has scored 21 times and handed out 22 assists. Cameron Dunn and Chris Novella have combined to net 48 goals and 19 helpers.
In goal, Catholic will turn to Nic Pezone who is 13-4 on the year with a .574 save percentage. Over 17 games, Pezone has a 9.85 goals against average and has made 213 saves.
SCOUTING TUFTS: A title contender year-in and year-out, Tufts, which is tied in the rankings with Fisher at fourth, enters the postseason having reeled off 10 straight wins including a victory over No. 9 Bowdoin in the New England Small College Athletic Conference title last weekend. Head coach Casey D'Annolfo will lean on one of the best attackman in the country in Mac Bredahl who has amassed 116 points including 61 goals and 55 assists over 18 games played.
Aside from Bredahl, Tufts' offense is further buoyed by Jack Boyden's 110 points while Camden Kelleher owns 77 total points including 51 goals. Tommy Swank has found the back of the net 42 times while Duke Alf has 36 total points in all.
Defensively, Tufts' is allowing over 12 goals to its competitors this season with Conner Garzone playing nearly 1,000 minutes in goal overall. In that span, Garzone is 16-2 with a 12.35 goals against average and a .520 save percentage.