GENEVA, N.Y.—The No. 13 Hamilton College women's lacrosse team took a 6-2 lead in the first half and went on to defeat William Smith College 12-4 in a non-league game played on Boswell Field this afternoon. The Herons are now 0-3, while the Continentals improve to 1-1.
 
Kara Pooley, Darby Philbrick and Morgan Fletcher each produced three goals for Hamilton. Caroline McCarthy added two goals and an assist. Hannah Withiam scooped up a game-high four ground balls and Casey File won a game-high five draws. Kara Pooley added two ground balls, three caused turnovers and two draws for the Continentals. Hannah Rubin started in goal and played 30 minutes, stopping five shots. Hannah Burrall came in for the second half and also made five stops.
 
Four different Herons scored for William Smith. Senior Hannah Connolly led the team with a goal and an assist. Junior Allie Flaherty and first-year Laura Rollins each picked up two ground balls. Rollins added two caused turnovers. Sophomore Kelsi Carr won two draws. Junior Sarah Honan started the game and played a total of 36:54, making a season-high 10 saves. Senior Allie O'Hara played 23:06 and made four saves.
 
Fletcher and File scored in the first 3:18 to give Hamilton a 2-0 lead. Carr found the back of the net for the Herons with 24:57 on the clock. Fletcher then struck again off an assist from McCarthy to make it 3-1. With 11:52 left in the first half, Connolly scored her seventh goal of the year to get William Smith within one, but the Continentals notched the next three goals to close out the half with a 6-2 lead. With 15:51 left in the first, Honan was issued a yellow card and O'Hara had to come in to play in goal. She immediately stepped in and denied a Hamilton free position shot. O'Hara also made two more big saves on the Continentals' next two shots, before allowing a Hamilton goal on a free position.
 
The Continentals opened the second half with five straight goals to extend their lead to 11-2. Pooley opened and closed out the run with her first and second goals of the game. Philbrick scored three goals and McCarthy added two in the span of scoring for the Continentals. With 14:59 on the clock, sophomore Ali Burns scored her third goal of the season. She carried the ball deep into the Herons' offensive zone before capitalizing on a one-on-one with the Hamilton goalie to make it 11-3. Pooley chipped in her third goal of the day with 9:03 remaining. Senior Emy Stratton posted her second goal of the year after a feed from Connolly with 7:34 left.
 
Hamilton held a 30-20 advantage in shots and an 11-9 edge in ground balls. The Continentals also registered a 13-5 lead in draws. Hamilton was successful on 13-of-14 clear attempts, while the Herons finished 14-of-19 tries.
 
William Smith will be back in action on Sunday, March 13, when it hosts Queen's for an exhibition game on Boswell Field at 2 p.m.