GENEVA, N.Y. — William Smith College sophomore midfielder Maddie Montgomery scored a career-high four goals, including three in the second half, but 10th-ranked Ithaca held on for a 9-7 win in a tightly contested Liberty League match on Boswell Field at David J. Urick Stadium this afternoon. The Herons, who are ranked 14th in the latest IWLCA poll are now 2-3 overall this season with a 2-2 mark in conference play.
 
Defense was the story of the day as the teams combined for 44 turnovers. Senior Anna Murphy led all players with a game-high five caused turnovers. Fellow senior Mekayla Montgomery added three caused turnovers. The Bombers were led by Molly Nodiff, who had two caused turnovers.
 
Senior Sadie Mapstone added two goals for William Smith. Montgomery brought in a game-high six ground balls and sophomore Molly Davis won a game-high six draw controls. First-years Kristen McCormick and Maddie Bamberger each played 30 minutes in goal. McCormick got the start and made five saves. Bamberger came on in the second half and stopped three shots.
 
Ithaca (6-0, 4-0) was led by Jacqui Hallack and Megan Motkowski, who each finished the game with two goals and an assist. Rachel Rosenberg and Hallack each won two draws. Mackenzie Schade started in goal and made 11 saves. She also brought in a team-high five ground balls.
 
The Bombers scored the game's first two goals to take an early 2-0 lead. Indira Varma collected a feed from Madison Boutureira to open the scoring. Four minutes later, Hallack beat McCormick for her 24th goal of the season. With 19:14 left in the half, Mapstone put William Smith on the scoreboard. She collected her own rebound and bounced a shot past Schade. It was Mapstone's first goal since 2019. Ithaca rattled off the next three goals to extend its lead to 5-1. Hallack fired a shot past McCormick for her 25th goal of the season to start the run. Ninety seconds later, Boutureira collected a feed from Motkowski and slipped a shot into the back of the net. Caroline Grant scored in transition just before the midway point of the half.
 
Maddie Montgomery ended the Bomber run with her eight goal of the season. She fired the shot from 10 yards out into the upper left corner of the cage. Senior Rachel Yackel was credited with an assist on the goal. The final three minutes of the half saw the teams score four goals. Sydney Phillips and Motkowski scored to extend Ithaca's lead to 7-2 with 1:10 left in the half. Mekayla Montgomery took the ensuing draw control to the cage herself and bounced the shot into the back of the net. It was her first goal since 2019. With six seconds remaining in the half. Mapstone drew a free position shot. Despite drawing three defenders, she managed to slip a shot past Schade.
 
The teams ramped up the defensive pressure in the second half, allowing a mere five combined goals in the final 30 minutes. Murphy nearly added her name to the scoresheet but her shot from in tight bounced off the crossbar. On the rebound attempt, Maddie Montgomery dodged her defender and beat Schade, notching her ninth goal of the season. Montgomery completed the hat trick 46 seconds later off a feed from first-year Chloe McGlynn. Motkowski helped Ithaca regain a two-goal lead, notching her 12th goal of the season with 19:42 left in regulation. Five minutes later, Montgomery made it a one goal game again. Her fourth goal of the game was her team-leading 11th of the season.  Alexa Ritchie notched an insurance goal for the Bombers with 2:42 remaining in the contest. Alex Rabb was credited with an assist on the goal.
 
William Smith finished the game with a 30-21 edge in shots, 24-20 advantage in ground balls and a 13-5 lead in draw controls. The Herons were 15-for-24 clearing the ball and Ithaca was 23-for-25.
 
William Smith will be back in action next weekend, April 9-10, when it takes on Clarkson for a pair of Liberty League games. The Herons will host the front end of the home-and-home series on Friday at 4 p.m., while Saturday's game is scheduled for 2 p.m. in Potsdam, N.Y.