The William Smith College lacrosse team rallied for a 14-10 victory over Brockport in a top-10 clash on Boswell Field at David J. Urick Stadium Wednesday afternoon. With the win, the Herons are now 4-0 on the season. It is William Smith’s first 4-0 start since 2009.
The Herons, who are ranked seventh in the IL Women/IWLCA poll and fourth in the Nike/USA Lacrosse Magazine poll, were led by Anna Murphy (3g, 2a) and Maddie Montgomery (4g, 1a), who had five points each. In total, seven Herons finished the contest with multi-point games. Molly Davis, who had two goals, matched her career-high with nine draw controls. Katherine Murray (2g, 1a) finished with a game-high six ground balls and three caused turnovers. Maura Smeader started in goal and made three saves as she earned the victory.
Brockport, which was 10th in the IL Women/IWLCA poll and ninth in the Nike/USA Lacrosse Magazine poll is now 2-1 on the season. Allison Jennings had a team-high five points on three goals and two assists in the loss. Cassidy Burnash scored four goals. Logan Hibbard recorded a team-high five draw controls, three ground balls and two caused turnovers. Morgan Elmer started in goal and made 15 saves.
Brockport opened the scoring 20 seconds into the game. Hibbard bounced a shot past Smeader. Jennings was credited with an assist on the goal. Just under a minute later, Maddie Montgomery tied the game with her 12th goal of the season. Murphy was credited with an assist on the tally. Ninety seconds later, Allie McGinty pocketed her fourth goal of the season to give William Smith a 2-1 lead. Brockport rattled off the game’s next four goals to take a 5-2 lead with five minutes remaining in the first quarter. Burnash started the run with a free position goal. It was her eighth goal of the season. Jennings netted a natural hat trick scoring the next three goals. Her first came on a free position shot. The second goal was assisted by Claire Odett and the third was assisted by Hibbard. Montgomery snapped the Golden Eagles’ run. Her second goal of the game and 13th of the season was assisted by Murphy. Kaitlin Pellechia wrapped up the first quarter with a woman-up goal with 10 seconds left. She dunked home a feed from Montgomery. It was her fifth goal of the season.
Brockport regained a two-goal lead with 11:36 left in the second quarter. Burnash ripped home a free position attempt for her ninth goal of the season. Less than a minute later, Payton McMahon notched her eighth goal of the season. Murray was credited with an assist on the goal. It started a four-goal run for William Smith that saw them take an 8-6 lead with 3:19 left in the half. Montgomery completed her hat trick with a free position shot. One minute later, Murphy slammed home a feed from McGinty. Murphy completed the run with her 12th goal of the season. McGinty was credited with an assist on the goal. Alayna Foos and Burnash scored free position goals late in the half to make it an 8-8 game.
Brockport took its final lead of the game with 11:04 left in the third quarter. Foos found herself all alone in front of the goalie and slipped a shot into the back of the net. William Smith scored the game’s next five goals to take control of the contest. Murray started the run eight seconds later. Her sixth goal of the season was unassisted. Just over a minute later, Montgomery pocketed her fourth goal of the game and team-leading 15th of the season to give William Smith the lead for good. Murray wrapped up the third-quarter scoring with her seventh goal of the season.
Molly Davis extended William Smith’s lead to 13-9 with back-to-back goals early in the fourth quarter. With 11:17 left in regulation, she fired home a free position shot. Just over a minute later, she scored a highlight real goal, firing an underhanded shot past Elmer for her eighth goal of the season. Burnash’s fourth goal of the game made it 13-10 but that was as close as Brockport would get. Murphy completed her hat trick and the game’s scoring with 7:38 remaining in the contest. Her 13th goal of the season was assisted by Pellechia.
Right place, right time! @murrayk2021 scores off the rebound to give @HeronLax an 11-9 lead over Brockport with 3:05 left in the 3rd quarter.#HeronPride | #d3lax pic.twitter.com/Ugio6SQ3Sx
— HWS Athletics (@HWSAthletics) March 16, 2022
William Smith finished the game with a 40-15 edge in shots, a 28-15 advantage in ground balls and won the draw control battle 15-12. The Herons were 14-17 on clear attempts and the Golden Eagles were 16-26.
William Smith will be back in action next Tuesday, March 22, when it heads to Bradenton, Florida, to take on Salisbury at 11 a.m. The Sea Gulls are the defending national champions and ranked No. 1 in the nation.
