GENESEO, N.Y.- The 15th-ranked William Smith College lacrosse team was edged by Geneseo 15-14 in its season opener at College Stadium this afternoon. The Knights scored 10 second half goals as they improved to 1-1 on the season.
 
The Herons (0-1) were led by sophomore Payton McMahon's game and career-high six points. Juniors Ellie Burns and Anna Murphy and first-year Kaitlin Pellechia each had hat tricks in the loss. Junior Mekayla Montgomery scooped up a game-high seven ground balls. Pellechia won a team-high five draws. Junior Olivia Hofmann started in goal and made four saves.
 
Jacqui Thorsen (4g, 1a), Hannah Marafioti (4g, 1a) and Nicole Voci (1g, 4a) led the way for Geneseo, which is receiving votes in the IWLCA poll, with five points each. Megan Henderson added four goals in the game for the Knights. Thorsen and Caitlyn Merkel each won six draws while Caroline McGuigan scooped up a team-high five ground balls. Margaret Rosaschi played all 60 minutes in goal and made 12 saves.
 
The Knights opened the scoring on Thorsen's first goal of the game. Just over two minutes into the game, she juked Hofmann and rifled a shot into the back of the net. Five minutes later, William Smith tied the game 1-1 on Murphy's first goal of the game. Geneseo extended its lead to 3-1 with a pair of Marafioti free position goals. She scored the two goals in a span of 14 seconds. Murphy added a free position goal of her own with 18:36 left in the half to make it a 3-2 game. The Knights again used a 20 second span to extend the lead to three goals. Thorsen notched her second goal of the game with 14:27 left in the half. Marafioti completed her hat trick on a free position goal 20 seconds later.
 
William Smith rattled off the next four goals to take a 6-5 lead into halftime. McMahon started the run with her first goal of the game. She picked up a loose ball in front of the cage and flipped a shot past Rosaschi. Ninety seconds later McMahon added a second goal off a feed from first-year Whitney Kripsak. It was Kripsak's first collegiate point. The Herons drew level with five minutes left in the half. Pellechia fired a free position shot past Rosaschi for her first collegiate goal. Pellechia added a second goal with 19 seconds remaining on the clock. She collected a pass from McMahon and bounced a shot through the goalie's legs.
 
Geneseo regained the lead thanks to back-to-back goals from Henderson. Her first goal was set up by Tessa Doody. Twenty-one seconds later she accepted a pass from Voci and sent a shot past Hofmann. The Herons tied the game at seven on Burns' first goal of the season. McMahon was credited with an assist on the goal. The Knights rattled off the next four goals to take an 11-7 lead with 20 minutes remaining in regulation. Henderson scored the first and fourth goal of the run to complete her hat trick. Marafioti notched her fourth goal of the game on a free position attempt and Tessa Doody also scored during the run.
 
Burns and Murphy scored free position goals two minutes apart to make it 11-9 with 15 minutes remaining in the half. The Knights answered right back with a pair of goals 38 seconds apart. Voci and Thorsen notched the tallies for Geneseo. Pellechia completed her hat trick with a free position goal with 12:41 left in the second half. Just over a minute later, Burns completed her hat trick with a free position goal of her own. Thorsen and Doody extended Geneseo's lead to 15-11 with 9:12 left in regularion.
 
William Smith would not go quietly though. McMahon started a three-goal run for the Herons with a free postion goal with 8:35 left on the clock. The goal completed her hat trick. One minute later, first-year Zoe Cook made it a two-goal game with her first collegiate goal. McMahon's fourth goal of the game, a free position goal, made it 15-14 with 4:39 left in regulation. William Smith had a chance to tie the game with 2:18 left in regulation, but Kelsey Williams' free postion shot soared just over the cross bar. With nine seconds left in the game, Murphy had a point-blank chance stopped by Rosaschi.
 
William Smith finished the game with a 34-28 edge in shots and a 22-19 edge in ground balls. The Knights were successful on 20-of-22 and the Herons went 20-of-24.
 
William Smith will be back in action Saturday, Feb. 29, when it hosts Oswego in its home opener. Opening draw is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Stiles Field at the Thomas B. Poole '61 and Family Sports Dome.