The nationally-ranked William Smith College lacrosse team scored eight goals in the third quarter as it cruised to a 19-7 victory over the University of Rochester in a Liberty League contest at Fauver Stadium. With their sixth-straight win, the Herons are now 10-1 on the season and a perfect 5-0 in conference play.
Molly Davis led the way for William Smith recording a career-high seven points on three goals and four assists. She also had a game-high six draw controls. Payton McMahon matched her career-high with six points on three goals and three assists. She also had a career-high four caused turnovers. Maddie Montgomeryscored a game-high five goals and Anna Murphy added five points on four goals and an assist. Allie McGinty also had a five-point game on two goals and three assists. Her three assists today give her 35 on the season. She is now fifth on the William Smith single-season list. Maura Smeader played all sixty minutes in goal and matched her career-high with eight saves.
Rochester (5-5, 2-4) Was led by Mia Perkell who had three goals. Grace Crochiere and Gracie Giannettino each had two goals. Crochiere matched Davis with six draw controls. She also had a game-high five ground balls. Giannettino and Kate Lindsey had three caused turnovers each. Ava Saffren played 45 minutes in goal and made eight saves Sami Dinhofer came on for the fourth quarter and made one save.
Montgomery, who came into the game with 98 career points, opened the scoring with a pair of free-position goals. She scored her first goal of the game and 35th of the season a mere 68 seconds into the game. Montgomery’s second tally came with 8:37 left in the frame. With the goal, she became the 40th player in program history to record 100 career points, joining teammates Anna Murphy (157 points) and McMahon (119 points). Giannettino put the Yellowjackets on the board with 5:17 remaining in the first quarter. Her 33rd goal of the season was an unassisted tally. The Herons extended their lead to 4-1 with two more free-position goals. With 4:15 left in the frame, Davis notched her 16th goal of the season. Ninety seconds later, Murphy beat Saffren for her 29th goal of the season.
Just over two minutes into the second quarter, Giannettino bounced a shot past Smeader for her 34th goal of the season. It was an unassisted goal. Twenty-seven seconds later, Murphy notched her second goal of the game, firing home a shot from right in front of the cage. Davis was credited with an assist on Murphy’s 30th goal of the year. Crochiere beat Smeader with a free position shot with just under 11 minutes left in the half, but that would be as close as Rochester would get. The Herons rattled off three unanswered goals to take an 8-3 lead into the half. Kaitlin Pellechiaone-timed a pass from McMahon into the back of the net. It was her 14th goal of the season. Twenty-eight seconds later, Allie McGinty scored a women-up goal. She dodged around a defender and slipped a shot past Saffren for her 18th goal of the season. Davis pocketed her second goal of the game with 3:16 left in the quarter. Murphy was credited with an assist on Davis’ 17th tally of the season.
The Yellowjackets opened the second half with a free-position goal from Perkell. It was her 15th goal of the year. The Herons scored the next five goals to seize control of the contest. McMahon scored the first two goals of the run. With 12:13 remaining in the frame, she scored off a pass from McGinty. Less than a minute later she took a pass from Davis and beat Saffren. The goals were McMahon’s 18th and 19th goals of the year, respectively. Katherine Murray added her 23rd goal of the year 28 seconds later. McGinty notched an assist on the goal. Davis completed her hat trick with 7:19 left in regulation. Her 18th goal of the year was unassisted. Just over a minute later, Murphy completed her hat trick. Davis was credited with an assist on the strike. Perkell broke up the run with a free-position goal. Ten seconds later, William Smith struck, making it 14-5. McGinty fired home a feed from Murray. Montgomery completed her hat trick with 4:04 left in the third quarter. Davis picked up an assist on Montgomery’s 37th goal of the year. Montgomery added her fourth goal of the game with 28 seconds left in the frame. McGinty notched an assist on the goal.
The Herons kept their foot on the gas to start the final quarter. Murphy picked up her fourth goal of the game 20 seconds into the final frame. Her 32nd goal of the year was assisted by McMahon. Crochiere and Perkell scored for Rochester to make it 17-7. Crochiere’s 18th goal of the season was a free-position goal and Perkell’s 17th tally of the season completed her hat trick. Montgomery scored a woman-up goal with 3:02 left in regulation. Her 39th goal of the season was assisted by McMahon. McMahon rounded out the scoring with her 20th tally of the season.
William Smith finished the game with a 37-22 edge in shots and a 16-13 advantage in the draw controls. Both teams had 26 ground balls. The Herons were 17 for 21 on clearing attempts and the Yellowjackets were 17 for 21 on their clearing attempts.
William Smith will be back in action Wednesday, April 13, when it continues its road trip against nationally-ranked Ithaca. The top-10 clash is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. on Higgins Field.
