Women's Lacrosse | 5/10/2023 12:10:00 PM
PITTSFORD, NY - The St. John Fisher University women's lacrosse team will be traveling to Alliance, OH to compete in the NCAA Tournament on Sunday, May 14 at 1 p.m. The Cardinals have a bye for the first round, and will await the winner of host Mount Union vs Aurora. That game is scheduled to take place on May 13. The Cardinals head into the week with a 16-2 overall record and are ranked No. 19 in the IWLCA poll and No. 13 in the USA Lacrosse Magazine rankings.
The Opponents
The Cardinals have yet to face either Mount Union or Aurora in program history. The Purple Raiders ended their regular season with a 12-3 overall record. They advanced to the OAC Championship game and faced Capital. After beating Capital 19-14 in the regular season, they lost in the title game 20-17 and received an at large bit into the NCAA tournament. The Purple Raider's head into the week with a 13-4 overall record.
Aurora ended their regular season 15-2 and went on to win the NAC Tournament against Concordia University 18-4. With this title win, the Spartans received an automatic bid into the NCAA tournament. Aurora heads into the tournament with a 17-2 overall record. AU is led by senior midfielder Monique Gibson, senior attack Bailey Simpson and senior midfielder Jalyn Yaukovitz. The trio won the NACC Midfielder, Attack and Defensive Player of the Year honors. Gibson is the AU leader with 102 points on 78 goals, 24 assists and has 124 draw controls, 45 ground balls and 29 caused turnovers. Simpson has 65 goals and 36 assists for 101 points while also picking up 32 ground balls and causing 17 turnovers. Yaukovitz had 35 caused turnovers, 63 ground balls and 74 draw controls while adding 53 goals and 19 assists from her defensive midfield position.
Cardinal Players to Watch
Sydney Carpenter was named the 2023 Empire 8 Women's Lacrosse Championship Tournament Most Valuable Player after recording three goals, three assists and 12 draw controls in the teams 10-5 win over Nazareth College in the title game Saturday. Carpenter tallied one goal, one assist, eight draw controls and five ground balls in the E8 semifinal win over Hartwick College on Wednesday. Carpenter is now a two-time E8 Tournament MVP, and has broke the E8 record for draw controls in a season with 169. Carpenter also received her fourth E8 weekly accolade for her standout performance last week.
Maddie Lowney had two solid games last week on the defensive end. In the teams E8 semifinal game against Hartwick she recorded three ground balls, one caused turnover and nine draw controls. In the E8 title game against Nazareth she tallied four ground balls, one caused turnover and three draw controls. Lowney earns Rookie of the year for the Empire 8 conference. Lowney has enjoyed an excellent debut season for the Cardinals with 47 ground balls, 32 draw controls and 18 caused turnovers. She is a key component of the St. John Fisher defensive unit that allowed just 24 goals in seven Empire 8 regular season contests. Lowney is the seventh Cardinals to earn E8 Rookie of the Year honors.
Stats:
https://athletics.mountunion.edu/sidearmstats/wlax/summary
Video/Press Conference:
https://oac.boxcast.com/#/channels/2xVZaQz1i7Fjio54gLvb
Tickets:
https://athletics.mountunion.edu/sports/2021/7/23/tickets.aspx
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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