Men's Lacrosse | 5/2/2022 3:26:56 PM
Top-seed St. John Fisher College is looking to win its third straight league title, as four teams will vie for the 2022 Empire 8 Men’s Lacrosse Championship, which takes place with semifinal action on Wednesday, May 4 and the title game on Saturday, May 7, with all games played at the higher seed. The winner will receive an automatic berth into the 2022 NCAA Division III Men’s Lacrosse Championship, which begins May 11.
Final 2022 Empire 8 Men’s Lacrosse Championship Seeds
#1 – St. John Fisher (6-0 E8, 13-2 Overall)
#2 – Nazareth (5-1 E8, 8-7 Overall)
#3 – Alfred (4-2 E8, 10-4 Overall)
#4 – Hartwick (3-3 E8, 6-5 Overall)
The 2022 Empire 8 Men’s Lacrosse Championship schedule is below. For the most up to date information on this year's championship, follow the Empire 8 Conference on Twitter (@Empire8).
2022 Empire 8 Men’s Lacrosse Championship Schedule
Wednesday, May 4 - Semifinals
#4 Hartwick College at #1 St. John Fisher College – 4 p.m.
#3 Alfred University at #2 Nazareth College –
4 p.m.
Saturday, May 7 - Championship
Winner of Semifinal #1 vs. Winner of Semifinal #2 – TBA at Highest Remaining Seed
St. John Fisher enters the 2022 Championship with a perfect 6-0 record in league play and is 13-2 overall, ranked fifth in the current USILA Division III national poll. The Cardinals are out-scoring its opponents 291-124 this season and are looking for their third straight league title. St. John Fisher is among the top-five nationally, averaging 19.4 goals per game and out-scoring opponents by more than 11 goals per contest. Nine different players have at least 14 goals and 20 points for the Cardinals. Nicholas Miller, the Empire 8’s all-time leading goal scorer, leads the Cardinals with 84 points on 41 goals and 43 assists, while Ian Evans has a team-best 48 goals to go along with 67 points. Jordan Depetres has added 38 goals, while Jack Mulvihill has 44 points. Face-off specialist Joe Post, who is now NCAA Division III’s all-time leader in both face-off wins and ground balls, has won 71 percent of his face-offs taken (237-for-334) and 184 ground balls in 2022. In net, Ben Hammond has an 8.81 goals against average and a .574 save percentage this season.
No. 2 seed Nazareth is looking for its 11th Empire 8 title in program history and first since 2017. Brett Randall leads the team and Empire 8 in scoring with 87 points on 49 goals and 38 assists in 15 games. He is in the top-20 nationally in points per game. Quinn McKercher has 45 goals and 65 points, while John Roth has 31 goals and 52 points. Matt Keane has won 56.9 percent of his face-offs taken this season, having gone 215-for-378 at “X”. He also has a team-high 118 ground balls. The Golden Flyers are one of the highest scoring teams in Division III, averaging 17.9 goals per game in 2022. Eric Almquist is 5-2 in net with a .537 save percentage for Nazareth.
Alfred is in the Empire 8 Tournament for the second straight season and third time in program history. The Saxons enter the tournament with a 10-4 record, having finished 4-2 in league play. Five players have between 34 and 38 points for Alfred this season. Kevin Matson leads the Saxons with 31 goals and 38 points, while Paul Forte and Drew Cartwright and Paul Forte both have 21 goals and 17 assists. Josh Hauman has added 25 goals, while Justin Mosher has a team-high 22 assists. Kaelan Winkky has won 59.8 percent of his face-offs taken (107-for-179) in 2022, to go along with a team-high 48 ground balls. Scott Kimiecik is 10-4 in goal with an 8.62 goals against average and a .599 save percentage.
Hartwick is in the Empire 8 Tournament for the first time since 2019 and sixth time in program history. Kainen Francis-Thompson leads Hartwick in scoring this season with 54 points on 35 goals and 19 assists in 11 games, while Dylan Ferguson and Shayne Kerrigan each have 15 goals. Daniel Beltran has won 55 percent of his face-offs taken and has a team-high 46 ground balls. Kyle McKee has appeared in eight games between the pipes for the Hawks and sports an impressive .610 save percentage to go along with a 9.38 goals against average. Jared Tiong-Smith has played in the last three games for Hartwick and has 46 saves over that stretch.
Wednesday’s semifinal contest between St. John Fisher and Hartwick will mark the second meeting of the season between the two programs. St. John Fisher recorded a 22-6 victory at Hartwick on April 23. It is also the second meeting of the year between Nazareth and Alfred. The Golden Flyers defeated Alfred, 22-8 on April 13.
Admission
$6.00 - Adults
$4.00 - Students and seniors with ID
Free - Children under 12
ABOUT THE EMPIRE 8 CONFERENCE
The members of the Empire 8 Conference are committed first and foremost to the pursuit of academic excellence and the league is regarded as an outstanding NCAA Division III conference. The membership has distinguished itself among its peer group for its quality institutions, spirited and sportsmanlike competition, outstanding services and highly ethical policies and practices. Its commitment to serve the educational needs of its student-athletes is the hallmark of the E8. For more on the Empire 8 visit
www.empire8.com.
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