Empire 8 Athletic Conference
St. John Fisher Athletic Communications
Men's Lacrosse | 5/13/2021 9:42:00 AM
The nationally-ranked St. John Fisher College men's lacrosse team will compete for a national championship this weekend as the Cardinals, who are ranked eighth in the latest United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association poll, will host the First and Second Rounds of the NCAA Division III Championship for the first time in program history.
Fisher is set to meet Maritime College at 4 p.m. on Saturday while No. 1 Tufts takes on Babson College at 1 p.m. with the winner of each game meeting at 2 p.m. on Sunday in the second round.
Fans unable to attend this weekend's action can still take in all the excitement by using the links below:
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HOW THEY GOT HERE: The Cardinals earned their second consecutive Empire 8 Championship last weekend after defeating rival Nazareth College, 20-6. Like Fisher, the Privateers claimed their second straight conference crown after outlasting Farmingdale State, 13-12, in the Skyline Conference Championship last Saturday.
CRAZY EIGHTS: Both Fisher and Maritime have been rolling lately. Entering the weekend, Fisher has posted eight straight wins and has outscored its opposition 156-59 in that stretch while the Privateers bring a perfect 8-0 record into the opening round of the NCAA Championship. The Cardinals also ascended to the eighth overall spot in the latest United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association poll – their highest ranking in program history.
PEAKING AT THE RIGHT TIME: Momentum is a funny thing and the Cardinals have some wind in their sails after allowing just nine combined goals over their last two games. Junior Ian Evans was named the Empire 8 Player of the Year and Darin Eakins was named the conference's Goalie of the Year on Monday while eight others were selected to the Empire 8's All-Conference Teams. Nicholas Miller, Tucker O'Donnell, Kyle Rochester, Jack Mulvihill and Roger Panara were named First-Team All-Conference while Jordan Depetres, Matthew Delaney and Matt Jeffries were each named Second-Team.
1-2 PUNCH: Few teams boast the talent that Fisher does – especially at attack as Miller and Evans have combined to produce 120 points including 80 goals over 14 games. Evans owns 39 goals and 22 assists while Miller, who was named the Empire 8 Championship's Most Valuable Player on Sunday, has accounted for a team-leading 41 goals paired with 18 helpers. The duo isn't the only combination that has proven to be effective for Fisher all season long as both Mulvihill and O'Donnell have led the midfielding corps with 40 points apiece.
IF X MARKS THE SPOT…: Then Fisher certainly found gold with senior All-American Joe Post. Entering the weekend, the Canandaigua native ranks 13th in Division III with a .702 faceoff winning percentage. Post, who owns the program record for faceoff wins, faceoff winning percentage and ground balls, has gone 228-for-324 through 14 games this year and has corralled a conference-leading 134 ground balls.
THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM: It's hard to look at this year's championship field and not notice the nation's new number one. The Jumbos, who took their name from P.T. Barnum's famous elephant, took over the top spot in this week's USILA poll with a 6-0 record. Tufts has won three national championships in men's lacrosse since 2010 and has reached the NCAA Quarterfinal four times since 2015.
SCOUTING MARITIME: In only eight games this season, the Privateers still managed to produce some gaudy numbers as they ranked third in the Skyline in goals scored and second in scoring average. Bryan Keegan leads the way for Maritime with 30 points on 21 goals and nine assists while Mike Leake and Patrick Schnell have contributed 20 and 16 points, respectively. Like Fisher, Maritime also features a strong faceoff component highlighted by Kevin Buser who leads the team with a .703 winning percentage. The Babylon native went 78-for-111 over five games and picked up 36 ground balls.
Defensively, Maritime will have its work cut out as it tries to limit the scoring chances for one of the top offenses in Division III in Fisher. Over eight games, the Privateers allowed 8.25 goals on average and surrendered 235 shots. Kyle Bockelman has seen a majority of the time between the pipes and enters the weekend sporting a 7.97 goals against average and a .553 save percentage.
SCOUTING BABSON: The Beavers played in only five games this season, but came out on top in each and will play in the NCAA Championship for the first time since 1979 after downing Coast Guard, 15-7, to win the NEWMAC Championship. Offensively, the Beavers are averaging nearly 17 goals per game and 52 shots, and have yielded just 22 goals to their opposition. The team is led by Ryan Donovan's 18 points on 10 goals and eight dimes while Peter Chisholm and Chi Chi Price have scored 14 and 11 points, respectively.
Defensively, Babson is averaging nearly nine caused turnovers a game led by John Antaya's eight. In goal, the Beavers rely heavily on Mac Mowat who has gone unbeaten between the pipes through five games. Mowat is allowing just 5.87 goals per game and has a 61.4 percent save percentage.
SCOUTING TUFTS: The Jumbos enter the field after having captured the New England Small College Athletic Conference title last weekend with an 18-11 win over Williams College. Tufts has surpassed 24 goals in a game four times out of its six-game slate and is led by Mac Bredahl's 47 points comprised of 15 goals and 32 assists. Bryce Adam has 38 points on the year including a team-leading 24 goals while Max Waldbaum has contributed 22 goals and 10 assists for the Jumbos.
In goal, Joe Theuer has seen a majority of time with a 10.53 goals against average and a .553 save percentage.
