GENEVA, N.Y.—The nationally-ranked William Smith College lacrosse team won its 12th consecutive game and clinched the Liberty League regular season championship outright with a 15-5 victory over the University of Rochester on Boswell Field this afternoon. Senior Alexandra Bird led the way with a game-high seven points.
 
The Herons improved to 15-1 overall, one win shy of the program's season record. William Smith is 8-0 in Liberty League play, matching the most conference wins in a season (2003 8-0, 2016 8-1).
 
Bird scored three times and posted a career-high four assists. It's the most assists by a Heron since Hayley Braun had four against Rensselaer on April 25, 2015. Junior Melissa Moore added five points on four goals and an assist and also scooped up a game-high six ground balls. Senior Allie Flaherty and junior Kelsi Carr enjoyed four-point games with the former tallying four goals and the latter notching three goals and an assist. Flaherty and sophomore Laura Rollins each corralled a game-high four draws.
 
Senior goalie Sarah Honan earned her 41st career win, tying Courtney Hutchinson for third place on the Herons' all-time list. Honan finished the day with four saves.
 
The Yellowjackets (8-5, 4-4) got two goals from senior Jamie Wallisch. First-year Jamison Seabury picked up a team-high three ground balls and had an assist. Sophomore Conley Ernst played about 57 minutes in the goal and recorded six saves. First-year Deirdre Kelly recorded one save in just over three minutes of relief work.
 
William Smith opened the scoring when Carr passed from behind the cage to Moore at the left post, who slipped a shot by Ernst for the early lead. Rochester answered with an unassisted goal by senior Danielle Diacovo about six minutes later.
 
The Herons seized control of the game with a 7-0 run that started with Flaherty's first goal about 13 minutes into the match. Twenty-seven seconds later, Bird set up sophomore Bizzer Gahagen for a 3-1 lead. Bird, Carr, and Moore extended the run with back-to-back-to-back free position goals to make it 6-1 with about 10 minutes left in the half. Moore followed her free position tally with an unassisted strike and an assisted goal (by Bird) to make it an eight-goal game.
 
Wallisch snapped Rochester's 18-minute scoring drought consecutive free position goals to get the visitors within five, but Flaherty fired home the final goal of the first half, sending the Herons into the break with a 9-3 lead.
 
William Smith left little room for a comeback, scoring the first three goals of the second half, including back-to-back scores by Flaherty.
 
Rochester didn't break through the Heron defense until just over eight minutes remained in the game, marking a scoreless span of more than 23 minutes. The Yellowjackets did score twice in less than two minutes to build a glimmer of hope for a comeback, but William Smith shut the door with the final three goals of the day.
 
William Smith will wrap up the regular season on Saturday, April 29, when the Herons host Rochester Institute of Technology (8-7, 3-5) at 2 p.m.