SPARKS, Md.—The ninth-ranked William Smith College lacrosse team defeated 18th-ranked Catholic University 14-9 at the USA Lacrosse Headquarters this afternoon. It was the season opener for the Herons.
 
Senior Maddie Montgomery led the way for William Smith with six points two goals and four assists. Fellow senior Kaitlin Pellechia had a career-high four goals and five points in the victory. In total five Herons finished with multi-point games. Montgomery had a team-high five draw controls. Sophomore Maura Smeader played all 60 minutes in goal and had a career-high 11 saves.
 
Kate Olsen (3g) and Caroline Beckett (3a) led the way for the Cardinals (0-2). Jessie Lee matched Montgomery with five draw controls. Lauren Davidson made seven saves in just under 50 minutes of work in goal. Laura Sullivan made three saves in the final 10 minutes.
 
KEY STATS

• William Smith finished the game with a 31-27 advantage in shots, including a 24-20 edge in shots on goal.
• The Herons had a slight 14-13 edge in the draw circle.
• William Smith was 19-for-25 clearing the ball and Catholic was 16-for-18.

 
FAST START

• The Herons jumped out to a 6-3 lead at the end of the first quarter thanks to a 6-1 run in the middle of the frame.
• Grace Hill opened the scoring for Catholic just over three minutes into the game.
• William Smith rattled off the game's next three goals. Pellechia scored the Herons' first goal of the season off of an assist from first-year Natalie Daniels. Thirty seconds later, Montgomery gave William Smith a 2-1 lead. Pellechia tacked on a second goal off a feed from Montgomery.
• After Lindsay Sawyer scored a woman-up goal for the Cardinals, William Smith extended its lead to four thanks to goals from sophomore Kate Colvin, Daniels and Pellechia.
• Shelby Graser rounded out the scoring in the first quarter.

 
SECOND QUARTER

• William Smith extended its lead 9-4 after thirty minutes scoring three of the four goals in the second quarter.
• Juniors Allie McGinty and Maddie Schleicher and senior Molly Davis scored for the Herons.

 
SECOND HALF

• Davis' goal started a 5-1 run for the Herons that extended the lead to eight goals.
• Pellechia opened the second half with her fourth goal of the game. Montgomery and Colvin added woman-up goals and sophomore Katherine Murray scored to give William Smith a 13-5 lead with 13:11 remaining in the contest.
• Catholic rattled off the next four goals to make it 13-9, but Davis scored with 22 seconds remaining in the game to round out the scoring.

 
UP NEXT:
William Smith will be back in action next Saturday, March 4, when it welcomes Cortland to Geneva for its home opener. The opening draw is scheduled for 1 p.m.