WASHINGTON, Pa. -- The Presidents had a furious rally late in the second half, but it wasn't enough to overcome a 2-0 deficit against St. John Fisher on Senior Day.

With the loss, the Washington & Jefferson field hockey team drops to 9-7 on the season and 5-2 in Empire 8 action. St. John Fisher keeps pace with Utica atop the E8 standings at 7-0 and moves to 11-5 this year.

Elizabeth Cusack gave the guests the lead just 3:27 into play with her 14th goal of the season on a deflection that finished high to the far side of the cage. Emily Markarian added an insurance goal in the 19th minute to the far lower left corner in a two-on-one. Stacie Skidmore assisted on both scores.

In the second half, Catherine Beaudoin scored her seventh goal of the year when she finished in the lower left corner on a backhanded shot with the assist to Lauren Brown.

Despite controlling the ball and pushing up on offense for most of the final 15-20 minutes, W&J was unable to get the ball behind Cardinals' goalkeeper Danielle Famolaro a second time.

The Cardinals led in shots, 15-5, thanks to a 12-2 margin in the first half. Amanda Steffey and Caroline Kallos each had two shots for the Presidents.

Morgan Brozena suffered the defeat in goal, falling to 5-6 on the season and making six saves in 70 minutes.

W&J closes out the home portion of the 2014 schedule with a non-conference meeting with Bethany at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 29.