GENEVA, N.Y.—The nationally-ranked William Smith College lacrosse team tied the program record for wins in a season, defeating Rochester Institute of Technology 13-4 on Boswell Field this afternoon. The Herons posted their 13th consecutive win to improve to 16-1 on the year, 9-0 in Liberty League play.
 
William Smith outshot RIT 33-14, had the edge in ground balls 16-11, and won more draws 13-6. Junior Melissa Moore led the offense with four goals and a game-high four ground balls. Classmate Ali Burns added a hat trick and senior Ali Flaherty chipped in three points (2g, 1a) and three draws. Sophomore Bizzer Gahagan had two goals and a game-high four draws. Senior Sarah Honan made seven saves to earn the win in goal.
 
The Tigers (8-8, 3-6) got a goal and an assist from both senior Sydney DaCosta and junior Emily Livecchi. Senior goalie Elizabeth Hughes recorded 12 stops.
 
The Herons built a 3-0 lead in the first nine minutes of the match. Senior Alexandra Bird hit a cutting Flaherty who fired one past Hughes just 32 seconds into the contest. Moore and Gahagan followed with free position goals at four minute intervals.
 
DaCosta got the visitors on the board with about 13 and a half minutes left in the half. Burns and Gahagan countered for William Smith to make it a 5-1 lead. RIT trailed 5-2 at the half thanks to Livecchi's goal about four minutes before the intermission.
 
The second half scoring started with back-to-back goals by Moore. The Tigers made it 7-3 near the midpoint of the half, but Flaherty, Burns and Bird scored in succession to stretch the Heron lead to 10-3. Flaherty's strike raised her team-leading total to 37. Bird's goal upped her team-leading point total to 49.
 
RIT tallied its final goal of the day with 5:04 remaining, but William Smith squashed any hope of a comeback with three goals in 68 seconds to complete the day's scoring.
 
William Smith will host the Liberty League Tournament for the second season in a row. The Herons will open the semifinal round on Friday, May 5 when they take on fourth-seeded Rochester (9-5, 5-4) at 2 p.m. Second-seeded Skidmore (11-5, 7-2) will take on third-seeded St. Lawrence (8-8, 5-4) in the other semifinal on Boswell Field beginning at 5 p.m.