HOBOKEN, N.J. (March 25, 2017)  – The Stevens Institute of Technology Women's Lacrosse team scored four unanswered goals over a four-minute stretch in the first-half stretch to erase an early 4-1 deficit and defeat No. 14 St. John Fisher College Saturday afternoon in an Empire 8 Conference matchup.

Eight different Ducks registered goals as Stevens won its conference opener for the third time in four seasons. Freshman Kyra Bednarski powered the Ducks offense with four goals and senior Laura Roberts and junior Cami Santon each recorded three as Stevens improved to 6-2 overall and 1-0 in E8 play. 

"I am proud of our ability to bounce back after a really challenging week of games," head coach Celine Cunningham said. "Our team made the necessary adjustments, especially after going down 4-1. I was really happy to see eight different goal scorers - especially against a talented SJFC team. Our defense continues to make crucial stops to give us an opportunity to win games. 

Jordan Johnson led the Cardinals with three first-half goals. St. John Fisher fell to 3-2 on 0-1 in the conference.

Defensively, Bednarski, senior Kathleen Kalbian, and sophomore Regan Littell each caused a turnover. Along with her nine saves, junior Stephanie Schnelzer led Stevens with three ground balls. The Ducks were a perfect 5-for-5 on free position shots, while holding the Cardinals to just 1-of-6

"Steph has been outstanding all season and today she came up with some key saves like the one at the end of the first period," Cunningham added. "That save gave us a lot of confidence going into the second half."

The Ducks outshot the Cardinals 26-18 and were 10-for-12 on clear attempts. 

Johnson and Kalbian exchanged goals in the game's opening minutes. Fisher would gain a 4-1 advantage after Johnson's third goal of the game at 13:46. Freshman Emily Shanklin began the crucial stretch for the Ducks with her eighth goal of the season. Bednarski followed with her first of the game and Roberts buried an up goal to knot the game at four. 

With the game tied, Bednarski, the Syracuse, New York native gave Stevens its first lead of the game two minutes later and Santor doubled the size of the advantage, easily beating Fisher goalie Hayley Peets. Peets allowed 14 goals without making any saves. Morgan Hayes replaced Peets for fifty-three seconds, allowing one goal.

Claire Bollin would pull St. John Fisher within one at 6-5, but the one-goal differential would be as close as the Cardinals would get over the remainder of the game. Goals from Roberts, Bednarski and Santor closed the first half with Stevens on top 9-5.

While Stevens gained momentum at the end of the first half after killing off a two-minute penalty, Fisher scored the first goal after intermission as Kelsie Schindler beat Schnelzer for her eighth of the season. 

Stevens quickly responded as Roberts, Mackenzie Metzler and Santor, scored over a four-minute stretch to open a 12-6 lead.  Mariel Haubrich, Julianna Ricci and Bednarski's final goal closed the Stevens scoring.

Up next: The Ducks begin a stretch of three straight road games on April 1 with conference matchup against Houghton College.

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