The Empire 8 Conference has named St. John Fisher College men’s lacrosse player
Jon Cortina as Goalie of the Week and teammate
Dave Wood as Player of the Week for the week ending April 19, 2009.
In a 2-0 week for the Cardinals, Cortina and Wood played pivotal roles in wins over Nazareth College and Alfred University. The win against Nazareth was Fisher’s first win over the Golden Flyers in its eight-year history, and the victory also set the program record for most wins, 12, in a season. Holding on for a 13-12 win, the Cardinals were powered by Cortina’s 14 saves, three of which came in the final three minutes of play, one that was saved from point-blank range with just 10 seconds remaining. The team also fed off of Wood’s career day, winning a College-record 24 faceoffs (24-of-28) and gathering a College-record 16 ground balls.
Saturday’s game versus Alfred University was again controlled by the two Empire 8 honorees. Wood won 19 faceoffs (19-of-24) while scooping up a team-high 14 ground balls in the contest. Cortina played only 48 minutes while cruising past the Saxons with a 16-7 victory, but showed his impact with 11 saves in the limited time.
Wood ranks in the top ten in Division III in both faceoff win percentage and ground balls per game. The senior was third in the nation last week in faceoff win percentage, winning 70.5 percent, while placing eighth in the nation in ground balls per game at 8.36.
Cortina leads the team in saves on the year with 151 and has a 61.1 save percentage. The junior goalie also boasts a 7.66 goals against average.
Fisher is now 13-2 on the year and is ranked No. 22 in the country in the latest USILA Coaches Poll. The Cardinals will look for their 14th win when they travel to Utica College for a 1 p.m. start time on Saturday.