GENEVA, N.Y. --The William Smith College lacrosse team advanced to the Eastern College Athletic Conference Mid-Atlantic Women's Lacrosse Championship with a 14-5 victory over Nazareth College. The Herons got a combined seven points from first-team regional All-Americans Megan Shea (Mountain Lakes/Mountain Lakes, N.J.) and Meghan Genovese (Geneva/Geneva, N.Y.).
Geneva native Ellen Fanning (DeSales) got Nazareth on the board first, converting on a free position at the 22:37 mark. Genovese evened the score almost 10 minutes later to start a 4-0 William Smith run. First-year attacker Gretchen Lasda (West Genesee/Camillus, N.Y.) gave the Herons the lead for good at with 12:34 to go and Genovese made it a 3-1 game 41 seconds later. Sophomore defender Brigid Lynch (Manhassset/Manhasset, N.Y.) completed the run at the 10:58 mark. Allison Roberts (Irondequoit/Rochester, N.Y.) set up the next two Golden Flyers goals, finding Lorra Podsiadlo (Penn Yann/Penn Yann) and Sue Hollister (West Genesee/Syracuse, N.Y.) to cut the lead to 4-3. The Herons got three of the next four goals and took a 7-4 lead into halftime.
In the second half, Nazareth again scored first and trailed 7-5, but seven unanswered William Smith goals sealed the win for the 14-5 final. Shea finished with two goals and two assists moving her into 11th place on the Herons' single season scoring list. Genovese and first-year midfielder Jackie Toner (Geneva/Geneva, N.Y.) each scored three goals and sophomore midfielder Amanda Wynn (Loomis Chaffee/Aspen, Colo.) contributed two goals. Roberts led the Golden Flyers with a goal and two assists, while Cindy Brady (Rome Free Academy/Rome, N.Y.) had a goal and an assist.
In goal first-year Rebecca Splain (Middlebury Union/Middlebury, Vt.) made 11 saves for the William Smith (14-2), while Teryn Wineburg (Auburn/Auburn, N.Y.) made seven stops for Nazareth (12-8).
The Herons will host Gettysburg College, an 11-9 winner over Franklin & Marshall, in the championship game May 13, at 2:30 p.m. Tickets are $3 for adults and $2 for senior citizens or students with a valid ID. Children under 12 will be admitted free.
--HWS SPORTS--
