William Smith College sophomore Ali Burns led the Heron lacrosse team with four goals in a 14-2 win over Rensselaer in a Liberty League game played in Troy, N.Y., today. The Herons went 2-0 in their opening weekend of league play.
 
William Smith is now 3-5 overall, while the Engineers fall to 4-4 overall and 0-2 in conference play. Junior Alexandra Bird added two goals and an assist for the Herons. Sophomore Melissa Moore and senior Hannah Connolly each chipped in two goals. Junior Jackie Rogers scooped up a game-high four ground balls and caused two turnovers. Junior Allie Flaherty won a team-high three draws and added a goal and an assist. Senior Emy Stratton logged a goal and an assist. Junior Sarah Honan played the opening 45 minutes in goal for the Herons and made three saves. Senior Allie O'Hara came in for the final 15 minutes and made one stop.
 
Maddy Aslansan picked up a team-high three ground balls and logged a game-high three caused turnovers for the Engineers. Michelle Bolger and Erin DeLucca each scored once. Rebecca Wilen started the game in goal for RPI, played the first half and made six saves. Aleena Milinski came in for the second half and finished with three saves.
 
The Herons opened the game with a 5-0 run. Connolly started things with back-to-back goals 29 seconds apart. Burns followed with her first of the day 17 seconds later, and senior Geneva Calder and Flaherty closed out the run. DeLucca scored RPI's lone goal in the first half with 14:50 on the clock. William Smith tacked on five more goals before the break. Moore started the run at 9:45. Bird found the back of the net 2:52 before halftime, and first-year Bizzer Gahagan scored six seconds later. Burns posted her second of the day with 1:06 on the clock and Moore snuck in one more in the final second of the first half.
 
The Herons continued to control the game, scoring the first four goals of the second half and not allowing an Engineer goal until the final minute. Burns notched her third of the afternoon to start the second half scoring, and Bird followed with her second of the day to make it 12-1. Stratton extended William Smith's lead to 12 goals and Burns struck again with 13:07 on the clock for the Herons' final goal. Bolger scored with 20 seconds remaining for RPI.
 
The Herons recorded a 28-8 advantage in shots, a 21-12 lead in ground balls, and a 10-6 edge in draws. William Smith was successful on 17-of-22 clear attempts, while Rensselaer was successful on 11-of-14 tries.
 
The Herons will be back in action on Friday, April 8, when they host Clarkson for another Liberty League contest at 4 p.m.