The William Smith College lacrosse team came up just short in a non-league game at No. 15 St. John Fisher, falling to the Cardinals 9-8 this evening. The Herons are now 1-4 this season, while the Cardinals improve to 6-0.
 
The Cardinals had the ball in the closing seconds, but took a shot with 25 seconds remaining. Junior goalie Sarah Honan made the stop and made a quick outlet pass. After a William Smith timeout, the Herons got a shot off with eight seconds left, but it banged off the crossbar. William Smith's eight goals are the most allowed by St. John Fisher so far this season.
 
Senior Hannah Connolly led the Herons with four points on two goals and two assists, while classmate Emy Stratton added two goals and an assist for three points. Stratton added two ground balls and two draws. Honan made 10 saves for William Smith and picked up two ground balls.
 
Jamie Wallace posted a game-high three goals for the Cardinals. Cori Holbrook added a goal and two assists and Sierra Badger chipped in two goals. Abbie Reed scooped up a game-high four ground balls and caused two turnovers. Hayley Peets earned the win in goal for St. John Fisher, finished with eight saves.
 
The Cardinals opened the game with the first two goals. Junior Allie Flaherty put William Smith on the scoreboard after an assist from Connolly 5:56 into the game. Crissy Cook and Badger notched the next two goals to give the Cardinals a 4-1 lead, but the Herons closed out the first half with a 3-0 run to tie things up at 4-4. Senior Geneva Calder scored William Smith's second goal and Stratton added back-to-back tallies before the break.
 
Wallace opened the second half with goal for St. John Fisher, but Connolly answered after a feed from Stratton to tie the game up at 5-5. Junior Alexandra Bird found the back of the net for her fifth goal of the season, giving the Herons their first lead of the game. Wallace posted her third goal of the game for the Cardinals to tie it up at 6-6, but Connolly struck again to give the lead back to the Herons. St. John Fisher then strung together the next three goals for a 9-7 advantage with 3:11 remaining. With 1:56 on the clock, sophomore Melissa Moore logged her fifth goal of the season to get William Smith within one and the Herons came up inches short on the game-tying goal in the final seconds.
 
The Cardinals held a 27-21 edge in shot, while the Herons held a 10-8 lead in ground balls. St. John Fisher recorded an 11-8 advantage in draws. William Smith was successful on 17-of-18 clear attempts, while the Cardinals were successful on 13-of-21 tries.
 
The Herons will be back in action on Monday, March 28, when they host Cortland for another non-league game on Boswell Field at 4 p.m.