Top seeds St. John Fisher and Nazareth win 2023 Empire 8 Women's Lacrosse Semifinal Contests

Women's Lacrosse | 5/3/2023 8:39:53 PM

No. 1 seed St. John Fisher University(15-2) and No. 2 seed Nazareth College (10-7) advanced to the 2023 Empire 8 Women's Lacrosse Championship game after earning semifinal wins on Wednesday, May 3. St. John Fisher defeated No. 4 seed Hartwick College, 17-6, while Nazareth rallied to defeat No. 3 seed Utica College, 11-10.

The Cardinals will host Nazareth in the 2023 E8 Women's Lacrosse Championship game at 11 a.m. on Saturday, May 6 from Growney Stadium. St. John Fisher is looking to win its 11th straight Empire 8 Championship and 13th overall in program history, while Nazareth is attempting to win its fifth Empire 8 title overall and first since 2006. The winner of Saturday's game will earn an automatic berth to the NCAA Division III Tournament.

St. John Fisher won the previous meeting between the two schools earlier in the season, 17-7 on April 15. Sydney Carpenter talied five goals and seven points. Saturday will also mark the third straight title game meeting between St. John Fisher and Nazareth. The Cardinals defeated the Golden Flyers, 13-3 in 2021 and rallied to earn a 12-7 victory in the 2022 E8 Championship.

NO. 1 ST. JOHN FISHER 17, NO. 4 HARTWICK 6
The top-seeded Cardinals raced out to an 8-0 lead after one quarter and scored 12 of the game's first 13 goals to cruise to a 17-6 win over Hartwick in the second E8 semifinal at Growney Stadium. With the win, ­­­St. John Fisher, who is ranked 19th in the IWLCA Division III National poll, improves its overall record to 15-2, while the Hawks end their season with a final record of 10-5. 

St. John Fisher's depth on both sides of the field showed early, as they forced several turnovers and scored eight times during a 10-minute span in the opening quarter.

Kaley Griffin, Courtney O'Dea and Mary Fiorentino combined for 17 points in the win. O'Dea lead all scorers with six points on two goals and four assists, while Griffin scored a game-high five goals and Fiorentino tallied twice and added three assists. Mykenzie Black recorded three goals, while Tara Osterdale dished out four assists.

Sydney Carpenter became St. John Fisher's all-time single-season record holder for draw controls in a season with 157. She had eight draw controls, five ground balls and a goal and an assist. Maddie Lowney added a game-high nine draw controls, as Fisher held a 19-7 in the contest.

Ellie Masterpole, Kristen Vaccarelli and Claudia Pollaro scored two goals apiece for the Hawks, while Katrina Marten dished out three assists. Maddi Morrison made 12 saves in net.

As a team, the Cardinals outshot the Hawks, 33-14, and won the ground ball battle, 30-21. Fisher forced 18 Hartwick turnovers including nine failed clear attempts. 

NO. 2 NAZARETH 11, NO. 3 UTICA 10
Second-seeded Nazareth scored three unanswered goals in the fourth quarter, including the game-winner by senior Kate Metzler with 3:17 left in the contest, to help knock off third-seeded Utica, 11-10, in the Empire 8 Semifinals.

Senior Emma States led the way with five goals and two assists. She is now fifth all-time at Nazareth in points (216) and goals (160) after the strong outing.
 
Nazareth and Utica are both 10-7 on the season after the semifinal matchup. It was the third straight year that Nazareth and Utica matched up in the semifinals, all of them decided by one goal. Nazareth won 9-8 in 2021, 10-9 in 2022, and 11-10 in the 2023 matchup. With the win, Nazareth also keeps its unbeaten record against the Pioneers, which is now 28-0.
 
The Golden Flyers had the lead for the entire game until the tides shifted in the fourth quarter. With Utica trailing 8-6 to start the final frame, the third seed delivered four-straight goals in less than a three minute span to take a 10-8 lead with just over 10 minutes to play. Samantha DeCondo scored twice during the run, including her 50th goal of the year.
 
States was able to stop the Pioneers run with her fourth of the day to pull within one. Nearly four minutes later senior Maggie Vay had a great individual effort to back up a missed shot, quickly restarted play, and streak in from behind the goal to tie the game up at 10 apiece with 4:36 remaining.
 
Freshman goalie Allie Klestinec and the Golden Flyer defense stood tall following the Pioneers flurry of goals, not allowing them to find the back of the net over the final 10:26. That included senior Annie Rubel picking off a pass out of the air following the Vay goal which ultimately led to the game-winning goal by Metzler at the other end. After the intercepted pass, Rubel streaked down the field and found Metzler for the game-winner. She finished with two goals, while Vay chipped in three goals.
 
The Golden Flyers held Utica scoreless for over 19 minutes and built a 4-0 lead with 11:47 left in the second quarter.
 
States scored two first quarter goals, her second being her 50th of the season to make it 3-0. Metzler and Makenna Misiurewicz added first half goals.
 
States added two more goals in the second quarter and the Golden Flyers lead was 6-3 at the half. The Phoenix, NY native now has 53 goals and 20 assists this season.
 
Klestinec added six saves to earn her sixth win of the season.

Alyssa Pisano led Utica with four goals on the afternoon, while DeCondo tallied four points on two goals and two assists. Goalkeeper Breese Burlingame made six saves.