Men's Lacrosse | 5/4/2022 6:59:25 PM
No. 1 seed St. John Fisher College (14-2) and No. 2 seed Nazareth College (9-7) advanced to the 2022 Empire 8 Men's Lacrosse Championship game after earning semifinal wins on Wednesday, May 4. St. John Fisher defeated No. 4 seed Hartwick College, 23-3, while Nazareth earned a 27-3 win over No. 3 seed Alfred University.
The Cardinals, who are ranked No. 5 in the current USILA Division III national poll, will host Nazareth in the 2022 E8 Men's Lacrosse Championship game at 5 p.m. Saturday from Growney Stadium. St. John Fisher is looking to win its third straight Empire 8 Championship, while Nazareth is attempting to win its 11th Empire 8 title in program history and first since 2017. The winner of Sunday's game will earn an automatic berth into the 2022 NCAA Division III Tournament.
NO. 1 ST. JOHN FISHER 23, NO. 4 HARTWICK 3
St. John Fisher, which is ranked fifth in the latest United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association national poll, improved its record to 14-2 on the season, while the Hawks ended their season 6-6 overall.
Joe Post etched his name into the history books once again, as the graduate student won his 1,192nd face-off to break another Division III record for all-time face-off victories. Post, who broke the Division III all-time record for ground balls against Hartwick on April 23rd, tallied 19 face-off wins in the playoff match, topping the record just seconds before the first half ended.
Fisher's offense was led by two of the best attackmen in the nation as
Nicholas Miller and
Ian Evans combined for 12 of the Cardinals 23 goals in the contest. Evans led the team with seven goals and one assist, while Miller scored five goals and two assists. Mathew Kemmis,
Jacob Gallina and
Jack Mulvihill all finished the game with three points, while goalie
Ben Hammond earned the victory (14-2) after saving six shots and allowing just one goal.
After a first quarter that saw the home team score 10 goals, Fisher continued its dominance in the second quarter as Mulvihill found
Matthew Kemmis for a Cardinals 11th goal just over a minute into play.
With Post's success at the X, the Cardinals offense continued to pressure the Hawks defense, scoring four goals over the next three minutes of play to take a 15-1 advantage. Shutting out the hawks in the third quarter, Fisher pushed its lead to 22-1 before Hartwick would score two in the fourth quarter and finish the match 23-3, with Fisher on its way to another Empire 8 Championship match.
As a team, Fisher outshot the Hawks, 74-26, and forced 23 Hartwick turnovers including seven failed clear attempts. The Cardinals, led by Post at the X, were 25-30 on face-offs and a perfect 1-1 in extra man opportunities.
NO. 2 NAZARETH 27, NO. 3 ALFRED 3
Fourteen different players scored goals for second-seeded Nazareth Wednesday as the Golden Flyers overwhelmed third-seeded Alfred in the semifinals of the Empire 8 Conference Tournament for men's lacrosse, winning 27-3 at Nazareth Lacrosse Players Association Field.
The victory was the sixth straight for the Golden Flyers, who improved to 9-7 overall and will face top-seeded St. John Fisher Saturday for the conference title and an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament. Fisher also won decisively Wednesday in defeating Hartwick 23-3. Saturday's game time is 5 p.m. at Growney Stadium. Alfred dropped to 10-5 overall.
In the victory, Nazareth set a single-season record for goals scored in a season. The Golden Flyers have 296 goals on the season, 17 more than the previous mark of 279 set in 2004. The Golden Flyers have scored 153 of those goals during their six-game winning streak. Wednesday's outcome was never in doubt after Nazareth scored five times in the first quarter and 10 more times in the second for an insurmountable advantage.
Quinn McKercher and
Jon Roth each scored four goals and
Brett Randall amassed seven points on three goals and four assists. Randall now has 95 points on the season on 52 goals and 43 assists.
Peter Schwab also scored three times while
Jeremy Jacob,
Nathan Anderson and
Braeden McKercher scored twice apiece.
Nazareth also had large advantages in shots (62-27), ground balls (44-19) and face-off wins (24-7).
Matt Keane won 13 of 18 face-offs and scooped up nine ground balls. Culver won 9 of 11 with six ground balls and
Brett Machado went 2-for-2.
LOOKING AHEAD: St. John Fisher defeated Nazareth by a score of 20-14 earlier in the season on April 2. Nicholas Miller and cker O'Donnell recorded seven points apiece in the win. The Cardinals knocked off Nazareth in the 2021 Empire 8 Championship by a score of 20-6.
2022 Empire 8 Men’s Lacrosse Championship Schedule
Wednesday, May 4 - Semifinals
#1 St. John Fisher College defeated #4 Hartwick College, 23-3 – BOX SCORE
#2 Nazareth College defeated #3 Alfred University, 27-3 – BOX SCORE
Saturday, May 7 - Championship
#2 Nazareth College at #1 St. John Fisher College – 5 p.m. – LIVE STATS/VIDEO
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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