BOXSCORE PITTSFORD, N.Y. –
Marissa Cussins (Corning/Corning West) scored with 59 seconds left in the second overtime to lift Fredonia State past nationally ranked St. John Fisher, 14-13, Friday in women's lacrosse.
The goal by Cussins was her seventh of the game and came only possession by the Blue Devils (2-0) during the second OT period. Two saves by senior goalkeeper Casey Chiesa (Baldwinsville/C.W. Baker), the first one on a free-possession shot, kept Fisher off the board just prior the winning shot.
After the second save, Chiesa turned the ball over while trying to begin a clear. As she raced back to her net, the Blue Devil defense slowed the Fisher offense and enabled Katie Kleine (Cazenovia/Cazenovia) to cause a turnover and pass ahead to Cussins, who then ran through defenders to get off her shot.
In addition to her seven goals, Cussins also had two assists and four ground balls, three draw controls, and two caused turnovers.
Kleine and Katie Glagolev (Webster/Webster Thomas) had two goals each while Rachael Reinis (Webster/Webster Schroeder), Erin Edson (Amherst/Amherst), and Kaila Fox (Clifton Springs/Midlakes) each had one goal. Kleine led the Blue Devils with five ground balls.
St. John Fisher came into the game ranked No. 14 in NCAA Division III. The Blue Devils are unranked.
The host Cardinals led by as many as three goals twice in the first half. The Blue Devils erased their deficit with a 5-0 run early in the second half, including a man-up goal by Cussins with 18:02 left to give Fredonia State its first lead, 9-8.
The teams traded goals the rest of the second half, which ended in a 13-13 tie in regulation. Neither team scored during the first six-minute overtime and the Cardinals appeared poised to pull out the victory in the second overtime, only to have Chiesa make two key saves. She finished with eight saves in the game.
The game was a rematch of Fisher's 9-8 overtime victory over the Blue Devils last May in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Fredonia State is back in action 5 p.m. Saturday at Nazareth. Both games this weekend are part of the Flower City Cup in conjunction with Coaches vs. Cancer.
