Fisher men’s lax heads to Sweet 16 with blowout win

PITTSFORD, N.Y.  — Junior Ian Evans tied his own program record with 11 points in a game on Saturday as the nationally-ranked St. John Fisher College men’s lacrosse team overwhelmed visiting Maritime College 21-6 in the opening round of the NCAA Division III Championship inside Growney Stadium. With the win, Fisher, which is ranked eighth in the latest United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association poll, improved to 12-3 while the Privateers had their season conclude at 8-1 overall.

Fisher, which has now reached the Sweet 16 in consecutive NCAA appearances, will take on top-ranked Tufts University at 2 p.m. on Sunday in Growney Stadium. The Jumbos defeated Babson College, 16-7, to advance to the Second Round.

Evans, who was named the Empire 8’s Player of the Year earlier in the week, finished with six goals and five assists as the Lafayette native accounted for eight shots and three ground balls in the win. Nicholas Miller, added three goals and five assists of his own. Jordan Depetres scored two goals and assisted on another while Jack Mulvihill and long stick Roger Panara each found the back of the cage twice.

The Cardinals’ dominated the faceoff game with Joe Post going 17-of-18 with a game-high 14 ground balls. Logan Grom was 5-for-7 at X while Christian LoCasto was 4-for-5 on the day with three GBs.

After jumping out to a 12-4 lead at halftime following five first-half goals from Evans, Fisher continued to fire on all cylinders and upped its lead to 17-4 with five goals over the first eight minutes of the third quarter capped off by back-to-back tallies from Miller including a man-up goal.

The Privateers would score a goal with 4:18 remaining in the period, but Fisher bridged the third and fourth quarters with four of the game’s final five goals to punch its ticket to the Sweet 16.

In goal, Darin Eakins played 30 minutes and made four saves. Ben Hammond saw over 21 minutes between the pipes and was credited with two saves while Brandon Moore played the final nine minutes in goal for the Cardinals.