Box Score WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.—Despite a five-goal effort from sophomore Lucy Johnson, the William Smith College lacrosse team fell to Messiah 16-13 this afternoon at Lake Lytal Park. The Herons slip to 1-2 overall, while the Falcons improve to 2-2 on the season.

Senior Molly Fitzgerald totaled four points for William Smith with two goals and two assists, while first-year Emily Leahy and sophomore Rosie Scheibel added two goals apiece.

Rachel Dirksen notched a game-high six points on five goals and a helper to lead Messiah, while Megan Bovenzi tallied three goals and an assist. Maddie Comfort also netted three goals for the Falcons.

This back-and-forth contest featured 11 ties, with the teams trading goals every few minutes. Comfort opened the scoring just 44 seconds into the game to give the Falcons a short-lived 1-0 lead. Just over a minute later, Johnson responded with a free-position goal to even things up.

After another Comfort goal, Fitzgerald and Johnson netted consecutive tallies to give the Herons a 3-2 edge with 20:47 to play in the half. Later in the stanza, Fitzgerald and Scheibel connected on two more free-position attempts in answer to another Messiah goal to give William Smith its largest lead of the game, 5-3, at the 11:54 mark.

Dirksen and Bovenzi tied the contest again for the Falcons, 5-all, with back-to-back goals in the 21st minute. The teams would trade goals for the remainder of the half, with the Herons taking a slim 8-7 lead into the break.

The teams continued to trade goals for the majority of the second half. William Smith held a 12-11 lead with five minutes left on the clock, but Dirksen exploded for three straight goals in a 1:08 span to seize a 14-12 advantage for Messiah.

With 3:14 to play, Johnson scored her fifth tally of the day to get the Herons back within one, 14-13, but goals from Dirksen and Bovenzi in the final minutes put the game out of reach.

William Smith first-year goalie Jesse Wilson collected a career-high 11 saves, while Taylor Phillips stopped 10 shots for the Falcons.

The Herons will be back in action March 23, when they travel to St. John Fisher for a non-league contest at 4:30 p.m.