St. John Fisher's Historic Season Ends With Loss To Salisbury In NCAA Women's Lacrosse Round of 16

Cardinals finished 2025 season with a 19-1 record and won 13th straight E8 Championship

St. John Fisher Athletic Communications

Women's Lacrosse | 5/17/2025 2:34:00 PM

MEDFORD, MA – One of the best St. John Fisher women's lacrosse seasons in school history came to an end on Saturday with a 10-5 loss to No. 7 Salisbury in the NCAA Division III Tournament Round of 16 at Tufts University's Bello Field. 

The Cardinals (19-1), ranked No. 14 in the IWLCA poll and No. 6 in the NCAA NPI, entered the day as the only undefeated team left in Division III. They tied the program's single-season wins record and had the longest winning streak in the country this season. 

Salisbury (16-4) will face No. 1 Tufts with a trip to the Final Four on the line on Sunday.

How It Happened 

  • The Cardinals' defense withstood early trouble after a pair of infractions had them two players down for nearly three minutes. Senior defender Ella Stewart caused a turnover, and sophomore goalkeeper Kaylee Gadol made a pair of fantastic saves as Fisher killed off the penalties. 

  • Senior attacker Hanna Kumpf put the Cardinals ahead 1-0 with a goal on a free-position shot at the 8:43 mark. About seven minutes later, sophomore Chelsea Lopata scored to make the score 2-0. 

  • Salisbury got on the board just before the first quarter ended, but the Cardinals regained their two-goal lead early in the second when senior Farrah Zalla scored on a feed from Lopata. 

  • The Sea Gulls swung the game in their direction with six straight goals after that, though, scoring three in the second quarter, two in the third and one in the fourth en route to a 7-3 lead. 

  • Kumpf scored her second goal of the day at the 12:33 mark in the fourth quarter to bring the deficit back down to three, but the Cardinals, who boasted a prolific scoring offense all year, couldn't find the spark to start a run. 

  • Salisbury netted three more goals to push its lead to 10-4 and put the game away.

  • Lopata scored Fisher's final goal of the game with 20 seconds remaining. 

Game Notes

  • Junior defender Maddie Lowney caused two turnovers to break Laurie Quackenbush's single-season program record (42). Lowney finished the year with 44. 

  • Lopata led the Cardinals with three points on two goals and an assist. 

  • Kumpf scored two goals in the game and finished her career with 127, the eighth most in program history.

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