Box Score GENEVA, N.Y.—The 11th-ranked William Smith College lacrosse team fell to eighth-ranked Union College 15-8 this afternoon in Liberty League action on McCooey Field. The Herons drop to 12-3 overall and 5-2 in conference play, while the Dutchwomen improve to 12-2 on the season and 7-1 in the league.
Sophomore
Molly Fitzgerald (Gould Academy/Sudbury, Mass.) led the Herons with three goals and two assists, while first-year
Cassie Findlay (Episcopal/Riverside, Conn.) netted two goals, and senior
Rachel Stahl (C.W. Baker/Baldwinsville, N.Y.) notched a goal and a helper. First-year
Kara Grogan (Gunnery School/West Simsbury, Conn.) and sophomore
Sarah Goodkind (Millbrook School/Greenwich, Conn.) each tallied once for the hosts as well.
Three Dutchwomen recorded four points to lead Union. First-year Chelsea Charette (South Hadley/South Hadley, Mass.), sophomore Steph Egizi (Westwood/Westwood, Mass.), and senior Keri Messa (Hotchkiss School/Saratoga Springs, N.Y.) all tallied two goals and two assists. Sophomore Allie Cuozzo (King Phillip Regional/Norfolk, Mass.) also added two goals and a helper.
Cuozzo opened the scoring 4 minutes, 46 seconds into the contest. The Dutchwomen’s first score was quickly answered by a tally from William Smith’s Findlay at the 25:47 mark. Just 37 seconds later, Egizi netted her first goal of the day, assisted by Charette, to put the visitors back up 2-1.
The Herons again found an answer, this time in the form of Fitzgerald. She was responsible for the next two goals, giving William Smith its only lead of the day, 3-2, with 21:38 remaining in the first half.
Union began to pull away after Messa sparked a five-goal scoring run with 20:39 left to play in the period. Stahl and first-year Dutchwoman Kristin Joyce (Longmeadow/Longmeadow, Mass.) traded goals to end the half, giving the visitors an 8-4 advantage at the break.
Union kept the pressure on in the second stanza, outscoring the Herons 7-4. Goodkind and Findlay scored the final two goals of the game, but could not dig William Smith out of its deficit.
The Dutchwomen held a slim 38-32 advantage in total shots, while the Herons recorded a slight 21-20 advantage in ground balls.
William Smith junior netminder
Becky Josefiak (West Seneca East/West Seneca, N.Y.) collected 12 saves, while senior
Morgan Baird (Pingree School/Gloucester, Mass.) stopped three shots in relief. First-year goalie Cat Ruggiero (Huntington/Huntington, N.Y.) finished with 17 saves for Union.
The Herons will be back in action tomorrow, April 26, when they hosts Skidmore for their last regular season contest at 2 p.m. William Smith and Union will meet again on May 2 in the semifinal round of the Liberty League Tournament hosted by Hamilton College.