STAFF WRITER
CHRIS POTTER

November has been a month to remember for the St. John Fisher women’s soccer team.

Entering the Nov. 4 showdown at Growney Stadium with Russell Sage College, the team knew they had a chance to do something that had never been done before. A win would secure the first New York State Women's Collegiate Athletic Association Soccer Championship in the history of the program. The Cardinals qualified for the postseason for the second straight year on the strength of a 7-7-2 regular season record. The Gators held an 8-8-1 record going into the game.

The two squads played to a hotly contested 0-0 tie through the first period. The Cardinals thought they claimed the lead off of a goal from junior Jillian Sorensen, but officials whistled Fisher for an offsides penalty on the play.

“I think that call was definitely the turning point,” MacLachlan said. “We were really pumped to play and win a state championship, and we weren’t going to let a bad call get in our way. That was when we really stepped up our game. Our intensity went up a level.”

It didn’t take long for the Cardinals to capitalize on their renewed intensity. The Cardinals broke through for good in the seventy-fifth minute. Junior midfielder Dani Davis split the legs of the Russell Sage goalie to give Fisher the lead. Davis was assisted on the play by freshman Jenny Mauro. The 1-0 advantage would hold up over the final fifteen minutes of the contest.

 “I think Russell Sage gave it a good fight, but it just wasn’t good enough for the wrecking force of the Cardinals,” sophomore Kiersten Drexler said. “We really wanted this win so we could continue our season, both for our seniors and for our pride.”

With the first state championship in the history of the program already wrapped up, the Cardinals looked to continue their season in the East Coast Athletic Conference playoff tournament.

Fisher’s first round opponent Fredonia, who had beaten the Cardinals 3-1 earlier in the season, provided further motivation.

“That loss definitely gave us some extra inspiration. There’s no way we were going to lose to Fredonia twice,” Gable said. “We came out ready to play.”

Although the Blue Devils possessed the higher number three seed, the number six seeded Cardinals hosted the quarterfinal match-up due to scheduling difficulties at Fredonia. On this night, however, the home field advantage turned out to be irrelevant, as the Cardinals turned in a dominating performance that would have held up in any venue.

Fisher got off an impressive 22, with 13 of them going on goal. The Blue Devils defense kept them in the game, keeping it close and somehow not allowing a goal through regulation and the first overtime period. Becky Scroger, Fredonia’s goalkeeper, played a solid game, making 13 saves.

With so many opportunities, Fisher knew they were bound to break through at some point, and it finally happened in the 95th minute of the contest. Kelly Zeppetella took a crossing pass from Davis and put it past Scroger to score the winning goal in double overtime.

 The win placed Fisher into the semi-finals of the ECAC Upstate Championship. They traveled to Skidmore College on Nov. 11 to take on the number two seed William Smith College. The dream season came to an end by the foot of junior forward Laura Burnett-Kurie when she scored 73:44 into the game to give the Herons the 1-0 win. Ashley Martin and Stacey Gable combined for 11 saves for the Cardinals.

Email address: chp08054@sjfc.edu