St. John Fisher College pulled away in the second half of its
NCAA Div. III Women's Lacrosse Tournament opening-round game
with The College of Wooster on Wednesday afternoon, outscoring the
Fighting Scots 8-2 during one extended stretch en route to a 17-12
victory at Pittsford, N.Y.
Wooster, the North Coast Athletic Conference champions, sees it
season come to an end at 12-4.
The contest had been a back-and-forth offensive clash for the first
35 minutes, featuring six ties, including 9-9 about five minutes
into the second half. But, then St. John Fisher (11-6) began to
take control, first converting a free-position attempt at the 24:45
mark and then scoring again less than a minute later for its first
two-goal lead at 11-9.
Another goal by the Cardinals with a little over 20 minutes
remaining forced head coach Liz Ford to call a timeout. The
Fighting Scots settled down, eventually scoring the next goal to
pull within 12-10 right before the midway point of the half.
Wooster had its chances to cut into the deficit further, taking the
next three shots, but St. John Fisher's goalie turned away a
couple and then Ashley Fenyn scored on the other end. Another
Cardinal scored soon thereafter on a free-position for a 14-10
cushion with 12:33 left.
Taryn Higgins won the ensuing draw control and quickly scored
unassisted to once again bring the Scots within striking distance,
however, that would be their last goal until the 5:02 mark. At that
point, St. John Fisher owned its eventual five-goal margin and was
content to run the clock down.
The Scots, who had constructed a 4-1 lead through the opening 13
minutes but ended up trailing 8-7 at the half, were led by
Higgins's four points. In fact, she closed with one of the
best games of her career, recording two goals, two assists, six
draw controls, six groundballs, and three caused turnovers.
Providing a significant boost for Wooster was Eileen Barrer as the
sophomore had a career-high three-goal outburst, while Hillary
Darragh and Becca Worthington netted two goals apiece.
Fenyn scored four goals for the Cardinals, as did Lauren Glavin,
who led all players with five points, adding an assist to her
total.
It marks the end for the Scots' standout senior class, which
includes two of the top-10 scorers in school history in Carly Carey
and Darragh; Higgins, a versatile midfielder like Darragh; starting
defenders Emmy Cassagnol and Romy Eberle, the latter soon-to-be a
four-time first-team all-NCAC pick; and Jamie Dannenberg, who
played every minute in goal the last three years. The group helped
Wooster to a 45-18 record (.714) and to two NCAC championships over
its four seasons.