GENEVA, N.Y. — William Smith College sophomore midfielder Maddie Montgomery led the No. 17 Heron lacrosse team with eight points on six goals and two assists in a 15-11 victory over Clarkson in a Liberty League contest on Boswell Field this afternoon. With the win, William Smith is now 3-3 overall this season with a 3-2 record in Liberty League play.
 
Montgomery's career-high eight points and six goals came six days after she notched a then career-high four goals and four points against Ithaca. She is the first Heron to score six goals in a game since senior Ellie Burns had six tallies in a 17-4 win over St. Lawrence on April 6, 2019. Her eight points are the most in a game by a William Smith player since Melissa Moore '18 had seven goals and an assist on May 12, 2018.
 
In addition, four different Herons finished the game with two points. Seniors Ellie Burns, Anna Murphy and Delia Lawver had two goals each and junior Payton McMahon had a goal and an assist. Senior Mekayla Montgomery won a game-high nine draws and had three caused turnovers and 3 ground balls. Her next caused turnover will be the 100th of her career. Only two Herons have more, Rachel Hughes '15 (116) and Brigid Lynch '03 (119). Senior Ellen Arena had a game-high four caused turnovers and senior Sadie Mapstone had a game-high five ground balls. First-year Maddie Bamberger started in goal and made five saves.
 
The Golden Knights (1-4, 0-2) were led by Sydney Roderick (2g, 3a) and Madelynn Barnum (3g, 2a) who had five points each. Kyrsten Stone also had a hat trick for Clarkson. Barnum, Grace Hagberg and Katie Sergeant all won 3 draws. Roderick had a team-best three ground balls. Emily Fischer made a season-high 16 saves in the Golden Knights goal.
 
Clarkson took an early 2-0 lead in the game. Hagberg opened the scoring 50 seconds into the contest. Her 10th goal of the season was assisted by Roderick. Six minutes later, Barnum scored a woman-up goal to double the lead. It was her seventh goal of the season. William Smith scored the game's next three goals to take a 3-2 lead. Maddie Montgomery's 12th goal of the season started the run with 22:09 left in the half. Just under 10 minutes later, McMahon tied the game with her eighth goal of the season. Sophomore Molly Davis gave the Herons the lead one minute later. Clarkson answered quickly, tying the game 20 seconds later. Stone dodged around a defender and beat Bamberger. Less than a minute later, William Smith regained the lead on Lawver's first goal of the season.
 
With eight minutes left in the first half, the Golden Knights tied the game at four on Roderick's fifth goal of the season. Maddie Montgomery's second goal of the half, a minute later, gave William Smith the lead for good. Lawver added her second goal of the game 90 seconds later. Hagberg closed out the first half with her second goal of the game and 11th of the season to make it 6-5 at the break.
 
Montgomery completed her hat trick 40 seconds into the second half. Clarkson answered 30 seconds later on a goal by Barnum. Montgomery struck again with 23:10 left in regulation. Her 15th goal of the season was unassisted. Julia Lavarnway would score a free position goal to make it 8-7 just under a minute later. That was as close as the Golden Knights would get. Burns scored back-to-back goals to extend the lead to 10-7.  Her first goal of the game came on a free position shot, and her second came on a brilliant feed from Montgomery. A minute later, Barnum completed her hat trick. Her ninth goal of the season was assisted by Sydney Roderick.
 
William Smith rattled off the game's next three goals to extend the lead to five goals. Murphy scored the first two goals of the run before Montgomery added a fifth goal. The Golden Knights did not go quietly, however, as they went on a three goal run of their own. Stone scored twice and Sydney Roderick pocketed the third to make it a two goal game with 7:16 remaining in regulation. Montgomery sealed the victory with her team-leading 17th goal of the season. She then set up senior Rachel Yackel on the doorstep to complete the eight point game.
 
The Herons finished the game with a 38-18 advantage in shots, a 21-13 edge in ground balls and a 15-13 victory in the draw circle. William Smith was 17-for-20 on clear attempts and Clarkson was 12-for-18.
 
The teams will wrap up the season series tomorrow afternoon. Opening draw in Potsdam is scheduled for 2 p.m.