GENEVA, N.Y.—The William Smith College lacrosse team captured the 2016 Liberty League Tournament title with a 7-6 win over Skidmore today on Boswell Field. It's the first time the Herons have won the tournament championship since 2004.
 
With the win today, William Smith earns the Liberty League's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. The bracket will be released with a selection show on Sunday, May 8, at 9:30 p.m., on NCAA.com. The Herons will be making their 18th NCAA tournament appearance and first since 2004. William Smith is now 11-7 overall.
 
Junior goalie Sarah Honan played all 60 minutes in goal for William Smith and made six saves. She was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player and earned a spot on the All-Tournament Team. Junior Alexandra Bird, sophomore Melissa Moore, first-year Laura Rollins, sophomore Cat Wolf, and senior Hannah Connolly joined her on the team. Skidmore's Tyler Phillips, Cas Szwajkowski, Rachel Talanian and Emma Harris were also named to the team. Chloe Knapp represented St. Lawrence and Union's Jen Hughes earned all-tournament accolades.
 
Bird shared a game-high with two goals for William Smith. Five more Herons each added one goal. Sophomore Ali Burns shared a game-high with four caused turnovers. Junior Jackie Rogers and junior Allie Flaherty each scooped up four ground balls. Flaherty also added a goal and three caused turnovers. Wolf produced three caused turnovers.
 
Tyler Phillips and Emma Harris each registered two goals for Skidmore (10-8). Phillips added three draws, three ground balls and a caused turnover. Rachel Talanian picked up a game-high five ground balls and shared a game-high with four caused turnovers. Megan Kolopsky played all 60 minutes in goal and made 13 saves.
 
The Herons held the momentum early, scoring the first four goals of the game. Two minutes in, Flaherty found the back of the net on a free position shot. Connolly made it 2-0 with an unassisted tally just over 10 minutes later. It was her 32nd goal this year. With 15:25 left in the first, senior Geneva Calder carried the ball hallway down the field and went straight to goal, extending the lead to 3-0. Moore notched her 26th goal of the season with 9:08 on the clock.
 
Harris broke through for Skidmore with 5:48 remaining in the first and started off a four-goal run over the next 6:16 for the Thoroughbreds. Harris struck again with 5:48 on the clock to cut the Skidmore deficit to two. Phillips then added back-to-back goals to tie the game up 1:24 before the break. With 20 seconds left in the opening period, Burns produced her 21st goal of the year on a low rolling shot to give William Smith a 5-4 advantage at halftime.
 
Tess Mattimore tied the game up for a second time with a free position goal with 14:39 left in the second half. Back-to-back free position goals from Bird 2:07 apart gave the Herons a 7-5 advantage. With 5:56 to go Szwajkowski got Skidmore within one, but the Heron defense stood strong and William Smith was able to possess the ball for most of the remainder.
 
William Smith finished with a 31-17 advantage in shots and a 24-21 edge in ground balls. The Thoroughbreds held a 9-5 lead in draws. The Herons were successful on 17-of-21 clear attempts, while Skidmore was successful on 14-of-21 tries.