MIDDLEBURY, Vt. - Senior attacker
Madison Ratchford (Ridge, N.Y.) scored five goals and the Western Connecticut State University Wolves led, 3-2, early in the second quarter but the St. John Fisher University Cardinals came away with a 14-7 victory over the Wolves in the opening round of the NCAA Division III Women's Lacrosse Championship Tournament at Middlebury College's Kohn Field this afternoon. WestConn completes its season with a 15-4 record with its first loss in 11 games. St. John Fisher improves to16-4 and will face undefeated Middlebury in the NCAA Second Round tomorrow at 1 p.m.
WestConn trailed, 1-0, after a goal inside the first minute by Ellie Leisen and WestConn junior goalkeeper
Norah Zuidema (Marlboro, N.J.) made her first save moments later before senior attacker
Madison Ratchford (Ridge, N.Y.) tied the game at 1-1 with 10:16 on the clock. Ratchford streaked down the middle and shot past Cardinal goalie Maggie Cross as she faded to the right. Cross made two saves and the Wolves forced the St. John Fisher offense to commit three turnovers, as the score remained the same for the next eight-plus minutes. Ratchford gave WestConn a 2-1 lead at the 2:50 mark of the first with a similar shot to her first goal but the Cardinals tied it 43 seconds later on a goal by Kaley Griffin.
St. John Fisher survived a late yellow card in the first quarter that lasted into the early second, but Ratchford netted her third goal of the contest with a shot from the left side that beat Cross over her shoulder. Sophomore Kyle Murnane (Bethpage, N.Y.) assisted on the play. The Cardinals received goals from four different players to go on a four-goal run and lead, 6-3, at the 7:08 mark of the second. Ratchford broke WestConn's 5:54 scoring drought when she shoveled in a goal in traffic off a pass by junior midfielder
Isabella Pota (East Meadow, N.Y.) 5:53 before the break. St. John Fisher answered with two goals, but Pota scored her first goal of the game with a hard bouncing shot past Cross from the right with 46 seconds left. St. John Fisher upped its lead to 9-5 at halftime on a goal by Dharma Makarowsky.
St. John Fisher scored twice in the first minute of the second half and outscored the Wolves, 4-0, in the third quarter. WestConn had scoring chances in third but juniors
Morgan Brace (Brewster, N.Y.) and
Grace King (New Milford, Conn.) were both stopped by Cross on free-position shots and Cross made a third save on a deep shot by Ratchford. Chelsea Lopata scored for the Cardinals 5:09 left in the third. and then gave the Cardinals a 14-5 lead with her fourth goal of the game at the 8:33 mark of the fourth quarter. Zuidema had a pair of saves and the WestConn defense forced six turnovers in the final stanza and both Pota and Ratchford scored late goals, as WestConn played hard to the final whistle.
Zuidema finished with six saves and Cross had nine stops for the Cardinals. St. John Fisher outshot WestConn, 28-22, while the Wolves forced 22 turnovers while committing 17. The Wolves also won the ground ball battle, 16-12, but St. John Fisher controlled possession with a 17-7 edge on the draw, including a game-high six draw controls by Maddie Lowney. Senior
Mia Negus (Rocky Point, N.Y.) paced the WestConn defense with four ground balls and two caused turnovers, while Murnane added two ground balls and two caused turnovers, and Brace had four ground balls and a team-high three draw controls. Makarowsky had three goals and two assists and Leah Hilton had two ground balls and three caused turnovers for St. John Fisher.
