WASHINGTON, Pa. -- Senior attacker Matt Hargather (Fairport, N.Y./Fairport) collected eight goals and two assists to help St. John Fisher open its 2007 season with a 16-8 men's lacrosse victory over Washington & Jefferson on Tuesday afternoon at Alexandre Stadium.

The Cardinals grabbed a 4-3 lead after the first quarter behind a pair of goals from Hargather, who finished the game with 16 shots. W&J kept the game close early on behind sophomore attacker Zach Devilbiss' (Taneytown, Md./Francis Scott Key) two first-quarter scores.

Hargather poured in a pair of goals in the first three minutes of the second quarter to make it a 6-3 game, but Devilbiss answered with his third goal at the 7:10 mark to bring W&J to within 6-4. The Cardinals held a 7-5 lead with under two minutes left in the half, but freshman attacker Chris Schmidt (Camillus, N.Y./West Genesee) buried two goals in the final 1:45, including one with five seconds left to stretch the SJF lead to 9-5 at halftime.

St. John Fisher took control of the game with six unanswered goals in the first 23 minutes of the second half. Hargather registered three of the Cardinal tallies and the Cardinals cruised to the eight-goal win.

Schmidt added four goals for St. John Fisher, while freshman attacker Dave Malone (Penfield, N.Y./Penfield) posted one goal and three assists. Senior goalie Brian Cummings (Syracuse, N.Y./West Genesee) made eight saves on 13 shots in 45 minutes of action to earn the victory. St. John Fisher held a 38-23 shot advantage and grabbed a 40-21 edge in ground balls. The Cardinals also converted on 3-of-6 extra-man opportunities.

The Presidents (0-2) were led by Devilbiss, who netted four goals and dished out one assist. Junior midfielder Chris Vogel (Pittsburgh, Pa./Fox Chapel) added one goal and one assist. Junior goalie Andrew Reid (Franklin, Tenn./University School of Nashville) took the loss after allowing nine goals in the first half. He finished the game with seven saves.

W&J returns to action on Saturday when traveling to Mt. St. Joseph (0-2) for a 1:00 pm game.

2007-03-06