GENEVA, N.Y. --The William Smith College lacrosse team cruised to its sixth straight victory, hammering the University of Rochester 18-6 during a rainy Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association contest. Sophomore attacker Megan Shea (Mountain Lakes/Mountain Lakes, N.J.) sparked the Herons offensively with five goals and was part of relentless defense that shut down the Yellowjackets.

William Smith jumped out to a 2-0 lead as Shea set up first-year attacker Gretchen Lasda (West Genesee/Camillus, N.Y.) at the 27:35 mark and netted her first goal 34 seconds later. Rochester responded for its only offensive burst of the day with three goals in five minutes. Two from Jessica Lerman (Penn Yann/N.Y.) and one from Erika Bergstrom (Niskayuna, N.Y.) for a 3-2 advantage at the 20:56 mark. A pair of sophomore midfielders put the Herons back out in front a minute and 21 seconds later. Amanda Wynn (Loomis Chaffee/Aspen, Colo.) knotted the score at three and Jackie Toner (Geneva/Geneva, N.Y.) ripped a Shea pass by Yellowjacket goalie Arna Berke-Schlessel (New Haven, Conn.) for a 4-3 William Smith lead with 19:35 to go in the half. Jenny Rogers (Brookfield, Vt.) tied the game a minute later, but the Herons exploded for 13 unanswered goals en route the 18-6 blowout.

Shea finished the day with five goals and three assists to match her single game season-high of eight points. Lasda had two goals and two assists and Toner scored two goals and recorded an assist. Wynn and senior attacker Meghan Genovese (Geneva/Geneva, N.Y.) each had a pair of goals. Lerman and Bergstrom led the Yellowjackets with two goals and a goal and an assist, respectively. ECAC and UCAA Goalie of the Week Rebecca Splain (Middlebury Union/Middlebury, Vt) was strong in goal, making 10 saves for William Smith (11-1, 5-1 UCAA). Stephanie Bristol (Manilus, N.Y.) made nine stops for Rochester (6-4, 3-3 UCAA) in relief of Berke-Schlessel.

Heron Head Coach Pat Genovese pointed to Shea as one of the keys to the win, but said her offense didn't stand alone.

"Her outstanding offensive performance was matched by her defensive tenaciousness," said Genovese. "She caused five turnovers, two of which were major interceptions at critical times early." Genovese also credited her defenders and goaltender for their outstanding defensive play. "It was a great defensive effort end-to-end. All in all it was a very well played game on our part."

The eighth-ranked Herons travel to No. 12 SUNY Cortland on April 24, to face the Red Dragons at 4 p.m.

--HWS SPORTS--