The nationally-ranked William Smith College lacrosse team will begin Liberty League play this weekend, March 25-26, with a trip to the North Country to take on Clarkson and St. Lawrence. The Herons will face on the Golden Knights Friday at 4 p.m. and the Saints Saturday at 2 p.m.
 
William Smith, which is seventh in the IL Women/IWLCA coaches poll and fourth in the Nike/USA Lacrosse magazine poll, is 4-1 this season. The Herons are looking to bounce back from their first loss of the season. William Smith was defeated by No. 1 Salisbury 18-6 on Tuesday afternoon. Payton McMahon led the way for the Herons, recording three goals. With the three points, McMahon recorded the 100th point of her collegiate career.
 
William Smith enters the weekend, averaging 14 goals per game while allowing 8.4. Allie McGinty leads the team with 19 points on five goals and 14 assists. She is first in the conference in assists and assists per game (2.80). Anna Murphy is right behind her with 18 points on 13 goals and five assists. Maddie Montgomery leads William Smith with 15 goals this season.
 
Maura Smeader has played a majority of the minutes in goal. She is 4-1 with an 8.50 goals against average and a .433 save percentage.
 
Clarkson is 6-0 this season with a 1-0 mark in Liberty League play. The Golden Knights are coming off an 18-5 win over Plattsburgh on Tuesday. They enter the weekend averaging 16.33 goals per game while allowing 8.5. Madelynn Barnum leads the team with 26 points on 25 goals and an assist. Julia Lavarnway is right behind her with 24 points on 19 goals and five assists. Sydney Roderick leads the team with nine assists. Sydney Christiansen has played a majority of the minutes in goal. She is 6-0 with an 8.80 GAA and a .500 save percentage.
 
Friday's game will be the 22nd meeting between William Smith and Clarkson. The Herons hold a 19-2 edge in the series, including three straight wins in the series. William Smith swept last year's home-and-home series, winning 11-5 in Potsdam, New York. Montgomery had 12 points on 10 goals and tw0 assists in the two victories.
 
Fans who cannot make the trip to Hantz Field can follow all the action with live stats and video courtesy of clarksonathletics.com.
 
St. Lawrence, which is 25th in the IL Women/IWLCA Coaches Poll and 16th in the Nike/USA Lacrosse Magazine poll, enters the week with a 6-0 overall record and a 1-0 mark in Liberty League play. The Saints will host No. 3/5 Ithaca on Friday afternoon. St. Lawrence is averaging 16.83 goals per game while allowing 7.83. Three players share the team lead with 20 points each. Isabel Silvia has a team-best 16 goals and Morgan Arakelian has 11 helpers. Raelynn Bovenzi has played a majority of the minutes in goal. She is 5-0 with a 7.17 GAA and a .533 save percentage.
 
Saturday's game will be the 50th meeting between the Herons and Saints. William Smith leads the series 34-15 and has won seven straight. Saturday's game will be the first meeting since 2019.
 
Fans who can't make the trip to Canton, New York, can follow all the action with Live Stats and video courtesy of saintsathletics.com. The game will also be broadcast on WHWS-FM (105.7 in Geneva).