LANCASTER, Pa. —The 16th-ranked William Smith College lacrosse team scored 12 unanswered goals over a 37 minute span as it stunned No. 1 Franklin & Marshall 13-5 at Shadek stadium this afternoon. With the win, the Herons advance to the third round of the NCAA tournament.
 
William Smith (10-4) will now take on St. John Fisher on Saturday, May 15, at 11 a.m. on the campus of Colby College. The Herons and the Cardinals met to open the season with St. John Fisher emerging with a 7-6 win.
 
William Smith was led offensively by senior Kelsey Williams' four goals. Fellow senior Anna Murphy also had four points on three goals and an assist. Junior Payton McMahon and sophomore Maddie Montgomery finished with two goals each. It was Montgomery's 13th multi-goal game of the season. Montgomery also won a game-high four draws. Senior Mekayla Montgomery registered a game-high two caused turnovers in the victory. With the pair of CTOs, she is now tied for second on William Smith's all-time list. Montgomery also had a game-high five ground balls. First-year Maddie Bamberger played all 60 minutes in goal and made three saves.
 
The Herons' defensive unit caused all sorts of problems for the Diplomats (7-1). William Smith limited Franklin & Marshall to a season-low five goals and forced the Diplomats into 21 turnovers. Franklin & Marshall came into the game averaging 14.71 goals per game.
 
Franklin & Marshall was led by Megan Jackson, who recorded a hat trick. Katie McLam and Ally Marino also scored. Emily Kitchin led the team with five ground balls and Tabitha Rodriguez had two caused turnovers. Kitchin played all 60 minutes in goal and made eight saves.
 
The Diplomats took a 2-1 lead five minutes into the game thanks to goals from McLam and Marino. McLam opened the scoring with 27:43 left in the half. Murphy tied the game just over a minute later. The Diplomats regained the lead 70 seconds later but did not score again until there was 10 minutes left in the second half.
 
Murphy's second goal tied the game 7:13 into the half, kicking off a 12 goal run for the Herons. Williams scored her first goal of the game with 21:53 remaining in the first half. The player-up goal was assisted by Molly Davis. Four minutes later McMahon added her name to the score sheet, beating Kitchin on a free position shot. Maddie Montgomery extended the lead to 5-2 with a free position goal. Twenty-one seconds later Williams converted a free position attempt for her second goal of the game. With 8:28 left in the half, McMahon notched her second goal of the game. Murphy was credited with the assist on the player-up goal. Two minutes later, Murphy completed her hat trick to make it 8-2. Montgomery rounded out the half with her second goal of the game and team leading 48th tally of the season.
 
First-year Chloe McGlynn added her name to the score sheet five minutes into the second half. She collected a pass from McMahon and fired a shot past Kitchin. Williams completed her hat trick with a one touch shot from directly in front of the cage. Burns set up the highlight reel goal. Burns than converted on a player up opportunity to give the Herons a 12-2 lead. With 15:05 remaining in regulation, Williams scored her fourth goal of the game to pad William Smith's lead.
 
Megan Jackson finally snapped the William Smith run with 10:14 remaining in regulation. Her free position goal came a player down. Jackson struck again with 5:01 left in regulation. Ally Marino was credited with an assist on the goal. Jackson completed the hat trick two minutes later to round out the scoring.
 
The Herons finished the game with a 27-17 edge in shots, a 20-13 advantage in ground balls and won the draw control battle 11-9. William Smith was 15-for-21 on clear attempts and the Diplomats were 14-for-18.