Score: St. John Fisher College 13, Elmira College 7
Records: St. John Fisher (6-7, 3-3 Empire 8), Elmira (4-6, 1-4 Empire 8)
Location: Campus Field - Elmira, NY

Elmira, NY -- The Elmira College men's lacrosse team lost a 13-7 decision to St. John Fisher College in Empire 8 Conference action on Tuesday at Campus Field.

The Cardinals set the tone early, needing a mere seven seconds for faceoff man Benjamin Stallman to win the opening draw and feed Drew Brown for the 1-0 lead. Brown made it 2-0 exactly one minute into the first quarter with the second of his game-high four tallies.

After settling down, the Soaring Eagles trimmed the deficit to one with two of the next three goals. Seniors TJ Leach '16 and Skyler Pradelski '16 each scored unassisted, the latter at the 2:43 mark of the first quarter, to cut the Fisher lead to 3-2.

As they did throughout the contest, the Cardinals responded quickly, as Mitch Rein scored 20 seconds later to push the lead back to two goals. Four seconds before the halftime intermission, Gary Bova extended the Fisher lead to 7-3. To cap off a 9-2 run, the Cardinals found the back of the net twice in the last 32 seconds of the third quarter. The hasty back-to-back scores late in the third gave Fisher a game-best 12-4 cushion.

Elmira looked to threaten the lead with a three-goal run of its own in the fourth quarter. Wyatt Katsos '17 rifled a one-timer from Anthony LaRusso '16 over the shoulder of Fisher goalie Tanner Swan with Bova sitting in the penalty box on an unreleasable unsportsmanlike misconduct foul.  Ollie Heitkamp '18 then welcomed back-up netminder Justin Townsend to the game with a rebound putback. Pradelski used a tremendous individual effort to deke his way through two defenders in the slot before flicking the ball past Townsend's stick-side, which brought EC within five goals, 12-7, with 3:40 remaining in regulation.

Turning Point
Despite the valiant fourth-quarter effort, the Elmira offense had trouble cashing in on a multitude of power-play opportunities. While Katsos earned 1-of-2 man-up goals for the Soaring Eagles to open the 3-0 rally, EC failed to take advantage of a two-minute penalty called on Vincenzo Ferrara for an illegal body check or a one-minute tripping infraction against Jake Clement. The Purple and Gold finished the contest 2-for-8 on the power play.

Inside the Box

• Although EC outshot Fisher 14-to-4 in the fourth quarter, the Cardinals boasted a 43-to-22 advantage overall.
• SJFC picked up more ground balls, 50-to-35.
• Fisher dominated the faceoff circle by winning 18-of-22 draws.
• Elmira was successful on 13-of-23 clear attempts, while Fisher failed only thrice on 16 attempts.
• SJFC was 1-for-6 on extra-man opportunities, while EC finished 2-for-8.
• Pradelski and Olney each scored twice for EC.
• Leach also registered two points with one goal and one assist.
• Katsos and Heitkamp recorded one goal apiece.
• Kevin Schutt '19 had team highs with two caused turnovers and five ground balls.
• Cameron Prior '17 saved 12 shots.
• Brown led all scorers with four goals and five points.
• TJ VanDeusen and Nick Papayanakos each scored two goals for the Cardinals.
• Stallman won 17-of-20 faceoffs and picked up a game-high 10 ground balls.
• Swan earned the win, his fifth of the season, with three saves in 49:20 of work between the pipes.

News and Notes

• EC has lost three consecutive Empire 8 games, falling to 1-4 in league play.
• Tuesday's contest was a United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA)-HEADstrong Foundation Cancer Awareness Game. EC wore special socks in support of HEADstrong's mission of bettering lives of those who suffer from cancer and their families.
• Pradelski and LaRusso have recorded at least one point in nine consecutive games.
• Katsos and Olney have registered points in five straight games.
• Prior has finished with double-digit saves in all 10 games this season.

Up Next
Elmira College will travel to Hoboken, NJ, to continue Empire 8 play against the nationally-ranked Ducks of Stevens Institute of Technology on Saturday, April 23rd. Opening faceoff is slated for 3:00 p.m.