The William Smith College lacrosse team jumped out to a 6-0 lead and kept control from there to defeat Bard 14-2 in the Liberty League opener for both teams played at Vassar College this evening. The Herons improve to 3-4 overall, while Bard falls to 0-4 overall.
 
William Smith junior Hannah Connolly posted a game-high five points on two goals and three assists. Junior Emy Stratton added three goals and an assist. Sophomore Abbey Foote notched a goal and two assists, while first-year Melissa Moore and sophomore Alexandra Bird added two goals each. First-year Cat Wolf shared a game-high with three ground balls and three caused turnovers. Sophomore Allie Flaherty also notched three caused turnovers. First-year Sarah Benyo led the Herons with three draws. Sophomore goalie Sarah Honan played the first 9:25. Junior Allie O'Hara came in for the final 50:35 and made two saves.
 
Joanna Regan and Alexandra Clarke each scored for Bard. Regan added an assist, a team-high three ground balls and a game-high five draws. She also caused two turnovers. Kaylynn Tran played all 60 minutes in goal for the Raptors and finished with four saves.
 
The Herons rattled off the first six goals. Stratton scored twice in the run and Bird rounded it out with the last two goals. Clarke put Bard on the scoreboard with 19:10 left in the first off an assist from Regan. With 15:58 on the clock, sophomore Jackie Rogers logged her first career goal. Moore and Connolly found the back of the net before first-year Bailey Ebby registered her first collegiate goal to give William Smith a 10-1 advantage at halftime.
 
First-year Ella Calder and Stratton both scored off passes from Connolly to open the second half. Regan produced an unassisted tally for Bard with 22:19 remaining to make it 12-2. The Herons continued to control the game with goals from Connolly and first-year Molly Neureuter to close out the game.
 
The Herons held a 23-8 advantage in shots and a 26-16 lead in ground balls. Bard held a 10-8 advantage in draws. William Smith was successful on 13-of-19 clears, while the Raptors were successful on 7-of-13 clear attempts.
 
The Herons will be back in action tomorrow, March 28, when they play another Liberty League game at Vassar at 3 p.m.