ONEONTA, NY – The Hartwick women's lacrosse team was looking for a big upset on Saturday, and were down by just one goal as late as 21:35 into the game, but ultimately fell, 13-3, to #15 St. John Fisher at Wright Stadium. The loss drops the Hawks back to .500 at 6-6 (3-2 in the Empire 8), while the Cardinals continue their stellar season and move to 12-2 (5-0 E8).
Fisher got it going in the first minute, when Mary Grace Doyle scored off of a feed from Sydney DeGirolamo at 29:20. It was over eight minutes until the next tally at 21:00, by St. John Fisher's Allison Rupp, assisted by team points leader Mallory Eymer. Eymer scored one herself at 17:21, up a woman on a free position shot, and was followed 1:12 later by Emily Thompson's 15th of the season to make it 4-0.
Hartwick was not frustrated, however, scoring the next three goals in a span of under two minutes. Jennifer Darasz (Gorham, ME/Gorham) converted at 11:06 via a pass from GinaMarie Wilson (East Meadow, NY/East Meadow), and after Wilson controlled the ensuing draw, Hailey Pooler (Adams Center, NY/South Jefferson) assisted on Amy Tracy's (Smithtown, NY/Florida Southern College) 16th tally. Emma Knapp (Canandaigua, NY/Marcus Whitman) had an unassisted goal at 9:25, bringing the score to within one goal and forcing a St. John Fisher timeout. The Cardinals found their game again after the timeout, scoring the final six goals of the half to take a 10-3 lead into the break. Logan Chase had two goals and an assist over those six tallies, Eymer and Rupp had a goal and an assist apiece, and DeGirolamo and Doyle one goal each.
The second half was relatively uneventful in terms of goal-scoring. DeGirolamo assisted goals by Doyle at 26:52 and 25:06, and Brittany Halpin scored what was the game's final goal for the Cardinals at 21:38. The Hawks did some solid net-front defending over the final two-thirds of the game, forcing nine Fisher turnovers. Ashley Jablonowski (Levittown, NY/Island Trees) was a wall in net over the final thirty minutes, making ten saves.
Five Hawks had a point apiece for the day. Knapp had a goal on two shots, while Tracy and Darasz each scored on their lone shot. Wilson had an assist and also registered a shot; Pooler had the other Hartwick assist. Emma Kaplan (Danbury, CT/Danbury) led the Hawks with four ground balls and tied for the team high of two caused turnovers with Darasz. Wilson and Cassie Durkin (Fayetteville, NY/Jamesville Dewitt) had two draw controls each to lead 'Wick. Jablonowski played the entire game in net, making 17 saves on 30 shots on goal as well as scooping three ground balls.
Fisher had a sizeable advantage in every statistical category. They led 50 to 5 in shots (30 to 3 in shots on goal), and had 23 turnovers to Hartwick's 42. The Cardinals scooped 36 ground balls to 'Wick's 20 and led 13 draw controls to five. The visitors were also 12-of-15 on clears, better than the host's 8-of-36.
Eymer, DeGirolamo, and Doyle all had the game high of four points. Eymer had two goals on four shots and two assists, tacking on two ground balls and a caused turnover in addition. DeGirolamo had a goal on three shots, a game-high four draw controls, two ground balls, and a caused turnover. Doyle had four goals on a game-high ten shots and three draw controls. Chase contributed all-around, with two goals on six shots, an assist, six ground balls, and three draw controls. Molly Tice had the game lead in ground balls, with nine, and caused turnovers, with four.
Hartwick's next game is a big one, as they take on Utica on Wednesday, April 17 at home in a key matchup for the battle for an Empire 8 Tournament spot. The game will also celebrate Senior Day for the team's seniors, with opening draw at 4 p.m.
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