Herons down RIT 15-6

Photo is courtesy of William Smith College

The William Smith College lacrosse team downed RIT 15-6 in a Liberty League game played in Rochester, N.Y., Friday afternoon. The Herons improve to 4-1 in league play and 5-7 overall.

The Tigers fall to 1-3 in the Liberty League and 4-7 overall this season.

Five Herons shared a team-high with three points each. Junior Allie Flaherty and sophomore Melissa Moore each registered three goals. Senior Hannah Connolly and sophomore Ella Calder each chipped in a goal and two assists. Junior Alexandra Bird added two goals and an assist. Bird also logged a game-high four ground balls and won three draws. Moore recorded a team-high four draws, scooped up three ground balls, and caused two turnovers. Junior goalie Sarah Honan finished with six saves.

Sage Sarkis registered three goals and an assist for a game-high four points for RIT. Corrina Mandell
won a game-high eight draws. Holly Leone won a game-high four caused turnovers. Elizabeth Hughes started the game in goal for the Tigers and made seven saves. Sophia Wojnovich came in in relief and made three saves.

Stratton put William Smith on the board first 3:23 into the game. Connolly sent a pass from the left side to find Stratton out in front.  The Tigers tied things up just under a minute later on a goal by Sarkis. It wasn't until 13:42 on the clock that the Herons added to their lead and started a four-goal run. Flaherty took a pass from Ella Calder and came streaking through the middle to score the Herons' second goal of the game. With 12:06 left in the first, give-and-go passing between senior Geneva Calder and Connolly led to Calder giving William Smith a 3-1 lead. Connolly scored a goal of her own on a free position with 9:03 on the clock, making it 4-1. Ella Calder capped the run giving the Herons a 5-1 advantage with 3:26 remaining in the half. RIT's Emily Livecchi cut the Tigers' deficit to three with a quick goal off an assist from Sarkis immediately following a draw control win. However, the Herons notched three more goals for an 8-2 lead at the break. With 2:30 on the clock, sophomore Kelsi Carr found the back of the net on a free position to give William Smith a 6-2 lead, and sophomore Ali Burns followed with a goal at 1:02, and Moore snuck in a goal with one second on the clock.

Moore opened the second half scoring 3:29 into the half. Ella Calder set up the play. Sarkis posted her second goal of the game on a free position with 22:54 on the clock. Bird gave William Smith a 10-3 lead with 17:26 to go. Moore completed her hat trick with 12:57 remaining. Her third goal of the day came off a feed from Bird. Flaherty made it 12-3 with a free position goal with 5:50 to go. Just 16 seconds later, Mariah Hettel started a three goal run for RIT. She found the back of the net off an assist from Corrina Mandell. Nineteen seconds after that, Sarkis rounded out her hat trick to make it 12-5. With 4:09 remaining, Maegen Schmauder notched the Tigers' sixth goal. Flaherty registered her third goal of the game, starting a three-goal player down run for William Smith, with 2:34 left in the game. Bird won the following draw and capitalized on a breakaway to make it 14-6 just 17 seconds later. With 1:55 remaining in regulation, Carr fired home a shot for the final margin.

The Herons finished with a 30-13 advantage in shots and a 20-17 edge in ground balls. The Tigers logged a 15-8 lead in draws. RIT was successful on seven of 11 clear attempts, while William Smith was successful on 14-of-15 tries.