GENEVA, N.Y.—Sophomore Bizzer Gahagan notched a hat trick as the No. 9/3 William Smith College lacrosse team defeated Skidmore 8-3 in a Liberty League game played on Boswell Field this afternoon. With their ninth straight win, the Herons improve to 12-1 overall and 5-0 in conference play.
 
William Smith scored the lone goal of the first half and then used a four goal run late in the game to secure the victory. It's the fifth time this season the Herons have limited their opponent to three goals or less. The Thoroughbreds fall to 8-5 overall and 4-2 in conference play.
 
It was Gahagan's first hat trick this year and the second of her career. Senior Alexandra Bird added two goals for William Smith. Senior Allie Flaherty scored a goal, shared a game-high with three draws and caused two turnovers. Flaherty now ranks 10th on the William Smith list for career draw controls with 89 and seventh on the career caused turnovers list with 69. Sophomore Laura Rollins picked up three ground balls. Junior Melissa Moore had a goal and caused two turnovers. Senior goalie Sarah Honan played all 60 minutes, made four saves and scooped up three ground balls. Honan is now tied for fourth on the Heron career saves list with 460.
 
Cas Szwajkowski led Skidmore with two goals. Rachel Talanian recorded a game-high five ground balls and caused a game-high four caused turnovers. Tyler Phillips added an assist and three caused turnovers. Megan Kolopsky made 11 saves in goal for the Thoroughbreds.
 
The Herons shut out the Thoroughbreds in the first 60 minutes and it wasn't until 8:26 left in the first that Gahagan put the Herons on the board. It was her 15th goal of the season. Moore opened the second half 4:45 in off a feed from the right side from Gahagan. At 5:52 into the second half, Tyler Phillips found Allison Byrne right in front to break through for the Thoroughbreds. With 18:44 to go, Gahagan notched her second of the day on a free position to give William Smith a 3-1 lead. Burns followed with an unassisted tally with 12:41 remaining to extend the Heron lead to three.
 
Back-to-back goals by Szwajkowski got Skidmore within one with 8:23 to go. However, the Herons took back the momentum scoring four straight. With 4:25 to go, Gahagan scored on a free position into an empty net after the Skidmore goalie was whistled for a foul and had to leave the crease. Bird notched her first of the day with 3:34 remaining and Flaherty produced her 26th of the season with 2:15 to go. Bird closed out the scoring with her team-leading 29th goal this year with 56 seconds left.
 
The Herons held a 24-10 advantage in shots. Skidmore had a 17-16 edge in ground balls and a 7-6 lead in draws. William Smith was successful on 17-of-24 clear attempts, while Skidmore finished 14-for-19.
 
The Herons are back in action on Friday, April 21, when they travel to St. Lawrence for another Liberty League game at 4 p.m.