Women's Lacrosse | 3/26/2025 8:01:00 PM
PITTSFORD, NY – The No. 18 St. John Fisher women's lacrosse team rode stifling defense and a four-goal fourth quarter to an 8-5 victory over No. 8 William Smith on Wednesday evening at Growney Stadium. The Cardinals improved to 7-0 for the first time since 2016 with the victory, their first over a top-10 team since a 9-5 win over No. 10 Messiah in the 2021 NCAA Division III Quarterfinals. William Smith, which had won four straight games against Fisher, fell to 5-3 overall.
How It Happened
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The teams traded goals in the first period, with William Smith's Natalie Daniels striking first just more than six minutes in. Senior Mary Fiorentino tied the game about a minute later on a feed from sophomore Ellie Leisen.
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William Smith's Kira Fulton scored twice about six minutes apart to give the Herons a 3-1 lead in the second quarter. The Cardinals swung back before halftime, as senior Sydney Carpenter and sophomore Chelsea Lopata tallied goals in the final three minutes of the quarter to send the teams into the break tied.
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Carpenter scored her second goal of the game to give the Cardinals their first lead of the day nine minutes into the third quarter.
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After a Fisher turnover, William Smith's Katherine Murray raced nearly the length of the field for an unassisted goal that tied the game at four with 3:51 remaining in the third.
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Senior Hanna Kumpf scored her first goal of the game to put Fisher back in front early in the fourth quarter, but William Smith responded again two minutes later, tying the game at five on another goal by Daniels.
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From there, though, the Cardinals took firm control, as senior Emma Biel and junior Kaley Griffin scored about a minute apart to give Fisher a 7-5 lead. Biel added one more for good measure with just less than two minutes remaining, securing the 8-5 victory.
Game Notes
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The Cardinals' defense hounded William Smith from start to finish, holding the Herons to a season-low five goals. Fisher forced 15 turnovers and caused seven of them.
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Sophomore goalkeeper Kaylee Gadol made seven saves while playing the full 60 minutes.
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Freshman Chelsea Mesick and senior Ella Stewart caused a pair of turnovers. Junior defender and preseason All-American Maddie Lowney picked up two groundballs and played badgering defense throughout.
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Kumpf led the Cardinals with three points, scoring one goal and tallying a pair of assists. She has had three or more points in each of the Cardinals' seven games this season.
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Carpenter and Biel led the Cardinals with two goals apiece. Lopata scored a goal and dished out an assist.
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Carpenter has scored at least one goal in 19 consecutive games dating back to the middle of last season.
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Carpenter also led the team with three ground balls.
Up Next
The Cardinals begin Empire 8 Conference play at 1 p.m. on Saturday against Russell Sage at Growney Stadium. Fisher has won 21 games in a row against Sage.
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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