Women's Lacrosse | 5/6/2023 2:28:59 PM
PITTSFORD, NY – St. John Fisher midfielder Sydney Carpenter recorded three goals and three assists to lead the top-seeded St. John Fisher College women's lacrosse team to their 11th consecutive Empire 8 Championship after defeating second-seeded Nazareth College, 10-5, inside Growney Stadium on Saturday. With the win, Fisher, which earned the conference's automatic berth into next week's NCAA Division III Championship, improved to 16-2 on the year while the Golden Flyers had their season end with a 10-8 mark.
The Cardinals will now await word on where and whom they'll face in the opening round of the NCAA Championship. The selection show will air at 10:30 a.m. on Monday, May 8 and can be watched by visiting
ncaa.com.
Carpenter was named the championship's Most Valuable Player for the second straight season after producing six points on three goals and three assists to go along with 12 draw controls and five ground balls. Carpenter was a major reason why the Cardinals won 17-of-19 draws on the afternoon.
Farrah Zalla scored three goals for the Cardinals, while Mykenzie Black added two tallies. Eight different Cardinals caused one turnover apiece on the day. Maddie Lowney had four ground balls and three draw controls, while Shanon Foster had three ground balls.
The Golden Flyers opened the scoring on a goal by Wallace, before the Cardinals scored four straight over a six minute span bookending the first quarter and early part of the second quarter. Carpenter assisted on three straight during that run. Nazareth would pull to within 4-3 before Carpenter scored with 1:57 remaining in the half to make it 5-3 Cardinals at the break.
Mussi scored her second of the game early in the third quarter to cut the Fisher lead to 5-4. A series of key saves by Nazareth goalkeeper Allie Klestinec kept it 5-4 before Black scored on a free position shot with 1:03 left in the third quarter to make it 6-4 Cardinals. The Cardinals defense clamped down from there, while Zalla, Tara Osterdale and Carpenter scored consecutive goals to put the game away.
St. John Fisher out-shot Nazareth, 32-10 and went 19-for-20 on clears. Lilly Goodsell improved to 16-2 in goal for Fisher after making a pair of saves.
Reva Mussi scored a pair of goals to lead Nazareth, while Maren Wallace had a goal and an assist. Klestinec was tremendous between the pipes for the Golden Flyers, stopping 12 shots.
2023 Empire 8 Women’s Lacrosse Championship Schedule
Wednesday, May 3 – Semifinals (at Higher Seed)
No. 1 St. John Fisher University defeats No. 4 Hartwick College, 17-6 – BOX SCORE
No. 2 Nazareth College defeats No. 3 Utica University 11-10 – BOX SCORE
Saturday, May 6 – Championship (at Highest Remaining Seed)
No. 1 St. John Fisher defeats No. 2 Nazareth, 10-5 – BOX SCORE
2023 Empire 8 Women's Lacrosse Championship Tournament Most Valuable Player
Sydney Carpenter, So., M, St. John Fisher
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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