Women's Lacrosse | 4/28/2025 9:58:16 AM
Top-seed St. John Fisher University is looking to win its 13th straight league title, as six teams will vie for the 2025 Empire 8 Women’s Lacrosse Championship. No. 3 SUNY Brockport hosts No. 6 Utica University, while No. 4 Nazareth University hosts No. 5 Hartwick College in first round action on Tuesday, April 29. St. John Fisher will host the winner of Nazareth and Hartwick, while No. 2 seed SUNY Geneseo will host the winner of Brockport and Utica in semifinal action on Thursday, May 1, while the two semifinal winners will play in the title game on Saturday, May 3, with all games played at the higher seed. The winner will receive an automatic berth into the 2025 NCAA Division III Women’s Lacrosse Championship, which begins with first and second round action May 10-11.
Final 2025 Empire 8 Women’s Lacrosse Championship Seeds
No. 1 – St. John Fisher University (9-0 E8, 16-0 Overall)
No. 2 – SUNY Geneseo (8-1 E8, 11-6 Overall)
No. 3 – SUNY Brockport (7-2 E8, 8-8 Overall)
No. 4 – Nazareth University (6-3 E8, 10-7 Overall)
No. 5 – Hartwick College (5-4 E8, 8-7 Overall)
No. 6 – Utica University (4-5 E8, 7-8 Overall)
The 2025 Empire 8 Women’s Lacrosse Championship schedule is below. For the most up to date information on this year's championship, follow the Empire 8 Conference on Twitter (@Empire8).
2025 Empire 8 Women’s Lacrosse Championship Schedule
Tuesday, April 29 – First Round
No. 6 Utica University at No. 3 SUNY Brockport – 3 p.m. – VIDEO/LIVE STATS
No. 5 Hartwick College at No. 4 Nazareth University –
4 p.m. – VIDEO/LIVE STATS
Thursday, May 1 – Semifinals (at Higher Seed)
Winner of Nazareth/Hartwick at No. 1 St. John Fisher University – 4 p.m. – VIDEO/LIVE STATS
Winner of SUNY Brockport/Utica at No. 2 SUNY Geneseo –
4:30 p.m. – VIDEO/LIVE STATS
Saturday, May 3 – Championship (at Highest Remaining Seed)
Winner of Semifinal #1 vs. Winner of Semifinal #2 – TBA
St. John Fisher enters the 2025 Championship ranked sixth nationally in the current National Power Index (NPI) with a perfect 16-0 record overall and 9-0 mark in E8 play, having out-scored opponents, 272-74 on the season. The Cardinals are looking for their 13th straight league title and 15th overall in program history and enter the tournament having won 64 straight games against E8 opponents (regular season and postseason) dating back to 2018 and 24 straight E8 Tournament games dating back to 2012. Five different players have at least 30 goals for the Cardinals and six have at least 40 points. Senior Sydney Carpenter, a three-time All-American and two-time E8 Offensive Player of the Year, leads the team in scoring with 72 points on 36 goals and 36 assists to go along with 66 draw controls, 33 ground balls and 21 caused turnovers. She is the Empire 8’s all-time career leader with 492 draw controls. Emma Biel has added 41 goals and 54 points, while Hanna Kumpf has 37 goals, and 50 points and Kaley Griffin has 33 goals. Defender Maddie Lowney leads the Cardinals with 43 ground balls, 34 caused turnovers and is second with 57 draw controls, while Paige Miller has 19 caused turnovers. In net, Kaylee Gadol has a 4.79 goals against average and a .490 save percentage while playing in 14 games for the Cardinals.
No. 2 SUNY Geneseo enters its first Empire 8 Tournament having finished 8-1 in league play and 11-6 overall. The Knights are out-scoring opponents, 276-159 this season, including 179-54 in nine league games. Maddie Brown leads the Knights and is tied for the league lead in scoring with 88 points on 33 goals and 53 assists. Her 53 assists lead the conference. Natalie Long has a team-high 50 goals, while Rosemary Mahoney, Long and Alaina Reina all have surpassed 35 goals and 50 points on the season. Katie Rajkowski has a team-best 33 draw controls, while Sarah Ginnane leads the team and is third in the E8 with 47 caused turnovers. Grace Geary leads Geneseo with 42 ground balls and is second with 29 caused turnovers. Goalkeeper Emily DeJohn has played in all 17 games for Geneseo and has 10 wins.
SUNY Brockport earned the No. 3 seed in its inaugural Empire 8 season, finishing 7-2 in league play. Five different Golden Eagles have scored at least 20 goals this season. Alayna Foos leads Brockport in scoring with 68 points on 46 goals and 22 assists, while Karaline McCarthy has 30 goals, a team-best 26 assists and 56 points. McCarthy also leads Brockport and is among the E8 leaders with 84 draw controls. Journey Naab and Paige Thowe have combined for 34 caused turnovers to pace the Golden Eagles, while Thowe has a team-high 29 ground balls. Goalkeeper Arianna Reed is second in the league with a .495 save percentage and has made 136 saves.
No. 4 seed Nazareth finished 6-3 in league play and enters the tourney with a 10-7 overall record. Nazareth has seven players with at least 10 goals. Sophia Scialdone leads Nazareth and is among the league leaders with 88 points on 53 goals and 35 assists. Liddie Hoare has 41 goals, while Julia Dietz has 48 points on 21 goals and 27 assists. Katherine McPeak has 27 goals to go along with team-best totals of 49 ground balls, 48 draw controls, and 23 caused turnovers. Goalkeeper Allie Klestenic has appeared in all 17 games in net for the Golden Flyers and has a .472 save percentage and leads the league with 152 saves. Nazareth is looking for its fifth E8 title and first since 2006.
Hartwick enters the tourney as the No. 5 seed with an 8-7 overall record and 5-4 mark in E8 play. The Hawks feature five players with at least 10 goals. Kristen Vaccarelli became the Empire 8’s all-time leading goal scorer on April 19 and has 227 tallies entering the tournament. This season, Vaccarelli leads the Empire 8 in scoring with 67 goals and is third with 86 points to go along with 74 draw controls and 48 ground balls. She leads the league, averaging 5.73 points per game. Katrina Marten is among the national leaders with 3.33 assists per game. She has 50 assists and has added 13 goals for 63 points. Kara Anderson has added 45 goals, while defender Brianna Liebro leads the league with 62 caused turnovers to go along with 60 draw controls. Her 4.13 caused turnovers per game leads all of Division III. Goalkeeper Brooke Lynett has played in 15 games for the Hawks in 2025, recording eight wins.
Utica is the No. 6 seed, making its eighth overall appearance in the E8 Tournament and seventh in a row. Grace Stuhlman leads the team in scoring with 45 goals and 64 points in 15 games to go along with 91 draw controls, while sister Maria Stuhlman has 40 goals and 47 points to go along with a team-high 45 ground balls and 16 caused turnovers. Seven different student-athletes have at least 10 goals. Makayla Purdy and Angelina Borowiec have split time in net. Purdy leads the team with five wins, while Borowiec has stopped 58 percent of her shots faced.
Looking ahead to the opening round, SUNY Brockport defeated Utica, 20-9 on April 12, while Nazareth defeated Hartwick, 21-8 on April 5. St. John Fisher defeated potential semifinal opponent Nazareth, 16-7 on April 19 and earned a 22-3 win over Hartwick on April 26. SUNY Geneseo defeated potential semifinal opponent SUNY Brockport, 16-9 on April 3 and recorded a 19-6 win over Utica on April 26.
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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