The William Smith College lacrosse team used a four-goal run at the end of the first half to take a 5-3 lead and went on to defeat Clarkson 10-6 in a Liberty League game played this afternoon in Potsdam, New York. Sophomore Alexandra Bird led the Herons with four goals and sophomore goalie Sarah Honan made a career-high 17 saves.
 
William Smith improves to 5-8 overall and 3-3 in the Liberty League. The Golden Knights are now 7-6 overall and 2-4 in conference play.
 
Sophomore Allie Flaherty score three goals for the Herons and junior Emy Stratton scored twice. Flaherty also shared a game-high with three draws. First-year Melissa Moore logged a goal and an assist and shared a game-high with four ground balls. Honan played all 60 minutes in goal and scooped up four ground balls.
 
Christine Wright led Clarkson with two goals and two assists. She added two caused turnovers and two draws. Paige Fayette recorded a goal and two assists. Kate Dillon added two goals. Lynette Smith shared a game-high with four ground balls and Molly Simmons won three draws. Dani Tani played all 60 minutes in goal and finished with 10 saves.
 
Stratton opened the scoring 3:20 in with an unassisted tally. The Golden Knights put together the next three goals to take a 3-1 lead with 19:13 on the clock. The Herons responded with a four-goal run to take a 5-3 lead into halftime. Bird opened the run at 11:59. Moore followed with a goal at 8:03 and Flaherty notched back-to-back tallies before the break.
 
Two minutes into the second half, Bird connected off a pass from sophomore Abbey Foote. With 13:25 remaining, Wright scored for Clarkson to make it 6-4. Flaherty posted her third goal of the day, this one off an assist from first-year Morgan Bayreuther with 9:14 left, and Stratton chipped in her second of the afternoon to give William Smith a four-goal advantage. Taylor Collins and Dillon put together two goals to make it 8-6 with 4:14 on the clock. Bird added two more goals for the Herons in the final 2:12 to secure the win for William Smith.
 
Clarkson finished with a 29-27 advantage in shots. The Herons held a 22-18 lead in ground balls and a 10-8 edge in draws. William Smith was successful on 14-of-21 clear attempts, while the Golden Knights were successful on 12-of-16 tries.
 
The Herons will be back in action tomorrow, April 15, when they travel to take on St. Lawrence in another Liberty League contest at 3 p.m.