GENEVA, N.Y.—The No. 17  St. John Fisher women's lacrosse took the lead with 6:08 remaining and held off William Smith College in the final minutes for a 10-9 win in a non-league game played today on Boswell Field.
 
The Herons (0-3) have lost their first three games by just one goal. The Cardinals improve to 2-1.
 
William Smith sophomore Alexandra Bird posted a game-high four points on three goals and an assist. Junior Emy Stratton added two goals. Sophomore Allie Flaherty scored a goal, shared a game-high with four draws and caused three turnovers. Senior Hayley Braun also scooped up four ground balls and caused three turnovers. First-year Melissa Moore notched two assists. Sophomore Sarah Honan played all 60 minutes between the pipes for the Herons and finished with 11 saves.
 
Samantha Barton led St. John Fisher with three points on a goal and two assists. Jordan Johnson, Sierra Badger, Lindsey Shoales and Chrissy Cook each posted two goals. Shoales also won a game-high five draws. Carly Sullivan shared a game-high with four ground balls. Abbie Reed notched three caused turnovers. Nicole Hart played all 60 minutes in goal for the Cardinals and made five saves.
 
St. John Fisher's Jordan Johnson scored the first goal of the game 5:23 in off a feed from Kennedy Frink. The Herons then posted three straight goals to take a 3-1 lead. Stratton notched her first of the afternoon off a pass from Moore with 14:50 on the clock. Twelve seconds later, first-year Alexandria Burns found the back of the net, also off an assist from Moore. With 13:50 remaining in the half, Bird logged her first goal of the afternoon. First-year Ella Calder set up the play. The Cardinals broke up with run with back-to-back goals from Sierra Badger and Erin Ward. Stratton struck again with 5:52 on the clock. This time Bird set up the play. Just 2:20 later, Shoales tied the game up at 4-4 for the Cardinals on a bouncing free position shot. With two minutes left in the half, Bird notched her second goal of the day, and with 1:02 remaining, sophomore Abbey Foote scored her first goal of the season on a free position to give William Smith a 6-4 advantage at the break.
 
Johnson started the scoring for St. John Fisher in the second half as well making it 6-5 3:23 in. Just over four minutes later, Bird tallied her third goal of the afternoon on a free position to put the Herons back ahead by two. The Cardinals then put together three straight goals to take an 8-7 lead with 11:59 left in regulation. Foote fed Flaherty to tie things up for William Smith at 8-8 with seven minutes to go. However, Chrissy Cooke sent home a shot off a feed from Barton with 6:08 on the clock, and then Barton notched a woman-down goal to put St. John Fisher up 10-8 with 3:53 remaining. With 1:10 on the clock, first-year Sarah Benyo carried the ball in and drilled her shot into the back of the net to get William Smith within one, but the Cardinals' defense held strong for the rest of regulation. It was Benyo's first collegiate goal.
 
St. John Fisher held a 25-20 edge in shots and a 24-21 lead in ground balls. The Cardinals also held the advantage at the draw, 12-8. St. John Fisher was successful on 13-of-21 clear attempts, while the Herons were successful on 10-of-17 attempts.
 
William Smith will be back in action on Monday, March 16, when they take on Connecticut College in Clearwater, Florida, at 11 a.m.