2009 Empire 8 Women's Lacrosse Championship Central; Fisher Defeats RIT for Conference Title
HOBOKEN, N.J. (April 30, 2009) – The Stevens Institute of Technology women’s lacrosse team went a perfect 8-0 in Empire 8 during the regular season and earned the right to host the 2009 Empire 8 Women’s Lacrosse Championship in Hoboken on Saturday and Sunday. Saturday’s first semifinal will feature the top-seeded Ducks versus the tournament’s fourth seed, St. John Fisher College (8-6, 5-3 overall) at 12 p.m. Immediately following the first semifinal, the second seed, Rochester Institute of Technology (12-4, 7-1 Empire 8), will take on third-seeded Nazareth College (9-7, 5-3 Empire 8). The two winners will play for the conference championship and berth into the NCAA Tournament on Sunday at 12 p.m.
No. 1 – Stevens Institute of Technology Ducks
No. 2 – Rochester Institute of Technology Tigers
No. 3 – Nazareth College Golden Flyers
No. 4 – St. John Fisher Cardinals
Matchups (all games at the De Baun Athletic Complex in Hoboken, N.J.)
Semifinals (Saturday, May 2, 2009)
No. 1 Stevens vs. No. 4 St. John Fisher – Final - Fisher 16, Stevens 12
No. 2 RIT vs. No. 3 Nazareth – Final - RIT 14, Nazareth 6
Championship (Sunday, May 3, 2009)
No. 4 Fisher vs. No. 2 RIT – Final - Fisher 10, RIT 9 (Fisher earns NCAA Tournament Berth)
Team Capsules
Stevens Ducks – 15-1, 8-0 Empire 8
Stevens comes into the conference tournament off its only loss of the season to No. 4 The College of New Jersey. Other than that one blemish, the Ducks have been fantastic all season, winning their first 15 games and outscoring opponents, 262-148. Stevens is winning by more than seven goals per game and taking 60 percent of total draw controls. The Stevens offense is led by junior Alyssa Pigott who has totaled 88 points on 66 goals and 22 assists. She also has 40 ground balls, 37 draw controls, and 22 caused turnovers and scored in the first 56 games of her career. Sophomores Leah Wasserman and Christine Smith have 50 and 41 goals, respectively, with Wasserman adding 20 assists. Senior captain Grace Sack has an individual record of 15-1 in her first season as a starter and has registered a save percentage of .500. The Stevens defense is led by sophomore Kate Cox (53 ground balls, 43 caused turnovers) and senior Cassidy Callahan (29 ground balls, 15 caused turnovers, 37 draw controls).
RIT Tigers – 12-4, 7-1 Empire 8
The Tigers started the season 4-3 but come into the conference tournament having won eight of their last nine games. Their only loss was to Stevens in a tight battle that could have gone either way as the top two seeds in the tournament each lost their last game of the regular season. RIT has outscored its opponents by 48 goals on the season, winning six contests by five or less goals. A battle tested team, the Tigers are led by senior goalkeeper Kelsey Evans (Carlisle, Pa.) who has a save percentage of .584 and has stopped 184 shots. RIT has three players in junior Ashley Pezze (Guilderland, N.Y.), junior Danielle Previ (Medford, N.J.), and junior Eileen Hennigan (Liverpool, N.Y.) that have scored more than 30 goals, with Pezze leading the way with 34. She also leads the team in ground balls (69), draw controls (46), and caused turnovers (29).
Nazareth Golden Flyers – 9-7, 5-3 Empire 8
Nazareth comes into the game going 2-4 in its last six games but clinching a spot in the conference tournament with a thrilling overtime win over Utica College on April 26 in the last game of the regular season. The Golden Flyers’ offensive attack is led by sophomore Michelle Cook (Waterloo, N.Y.). She totaled 61 points on 41 goals and 20 assists. Senior defenders Maggie Mullin (Rochester, N.Y.) and Hannah Brennan (Pen Yan, N.Y.) are also big keys for Nazareth. Mullin leads the Golden Flyers in ground balls (35), draw controls (41), and caused turnovers (15), while Brennan has picked up 21 ground balls and caused 13 turnovers.
St. John Fisher Cardinals – 8-6, 5-3 Empire 8
Fisher comes into this year’s tournament having outscored its opponents by 55 goals and winning five of its last six games. The Cardinals were able to overcome an 0-3 start to put together a solid overall season. The 2007 Empire 8 Rookie of the year and present junior Lauren Glavin (Syracuse, N.Y.) leads Fisher. She is tops on the team in goals (39), points (58), ground balls (49), draw controls (32), and caused turnovers (20) heading into tournament play. Junior goalkeeper Vicki Sahm (Baldwinsville, N.Y.) has played every minute of the last 33 games for the Cardinals. She leads the conference in saves per game (13.07), and ranks third in save percentage (.558). Junior Ashley Fenyn (Newark, N.Y.) ranks third on the team in goals (27) and second in assists (20) this season, and has scored at least five points on four separate occasions in 2009.
Head-to-Head in 2009
Stevens 17, Fisher 14 – April 18, Hoboken, N.J.
RIT 17, Nazareth 5 - April 4, Pittsford, N.Y.
RIT 8, Fisher 7 - April 5, Pittsford, N.Y.
