BROCKPORT, N.Y. — The SUNY Brockport men's lacrosse team (2-11, 2-4 Empire 8) returned to A. Huntley Parker Jr. Field on Wednesday afternoon, facing the No. 7 ranked St. John Fisher (13-1, 6-0 Empire 8). Despite an impressive defensive effort and moments of offensive spark, the Golden Eagles ultimately fell to the Cardinals 12-4.

How It Happened

St. John Fisher established control early, utilizing a three-goal run in the first six minutes to take a 3-0 lead. Daniel Stiles put the Golden Eagles on the board at the 7:27 mark of the first period following an assist from Brenden McClay, but the Cardinals answered with two more tallies to lead 5-1 after one.

The second quarter saw Brockport trade blows with the Cardinals. Marc Zappulla found the back of the net early in the period off a feed from Stiles to cut the deficit to 5-2. After Fisher responded, Stiles netted his second goal of the day, assisted by Zappulla, to keep Brockport within three at 6-3 with 4:48 remaining in the half. However, a late scoring surge by Fisher's Sean Donaldson extended the Cardinal lead to 8-3 heading into the locker room.

The Cardinals' defense tightened in the second half, holding Brockport scoreless in the third period while adding two goals to their total. In the final frame, the Golden Eagles broke the drought when Rorick Perry scored off an assist from Mason Michel at the 13:27 mark. While Brockport's defense, anchored by a 15-save performance from Jared Kulik, stood tall against 44 total shots, the Cardinals added two late insurance goals to secure the 12-4 victory.

Brockport maintained a disciplined clearing game, going 21-for-26 on the afternoon, and battled for 24 ground balls against a physical Fisher squad.

Top Performers

Daniel Stiles led the Brockport offense with three points on two goals and one assist, while Marc Zappulla contributed two points with a goal and a helper. 

Rorick Perry also found the back of the net for the Golden Eagles, with Brenden McClay and Mason Michel each providing an assist. 

Defensively, Brady Donaghy was a standout, recording a team-high four caused turnovers and three ground balls. AJ Thomas was equally impactful, causing three turnovers and picking up three ground balls, while Kevin Jonathan led the team in the hustle category with four ground balls and two caused turnovers. 

Cody Whittaker led the effort at the faceoff X with five wins. In the cage, Jared Kulik was under constant pressure but delivered 15 saves over the full 60 minutes to keep the Golden Eagles competitive.

Up Next

Brockport will look to bounce back at home as they host Penn College for a non-conference matchup on Friday, April 17, at 4 p.m.