SCHENECTADY, N.Y.—The seventh-ranked William Smith lacrosse team used a strong defensive effort to defeat  Union 7-4 in a Liberty League contest on Frank Bailey Field this afternoon. It was the Liberty League opener for both teams.
 
Both teams had 10 caused turnovers and the goalies combined for 20 saves in today's game. The 11 combined goals are the fewest between the two teams in a series that dates back to 1988.
 
Senior Nikki Pio and sophomore Janey Sypeck anchored William Smith's defensive effort, finishing with three caused turnovers each. Sypeck had three ground balls and Pio had two. Add in Livvy Von Heill and Lily Kuhn, the Herons limited Union to a season-low four goals.
 
Senior Maura Smeader played all 60 minutes in goal and made eight saves as she earned the win. She had a team-high four ground balls. On the offensive end of the field, senior Kate Colvin and sophomores Kayla Quirk and Kira Fulton had two goals each. Colvin, Quirk and junior Delaney Cassidy all had two draw controls.
 
The Garnet Chargers defense was led by Anna Dembowski who had a game-high four caused turnovers and a game-high five ground balls. Sydney Widlitz played all 60 minutes in goal and made 12 saves. Stella Del Papa had two goals in the loss.
 
FOR THE RECORD

• With the win, William Smith is now 4-2 overall with a 1-0 mark in Liberty League play.
• After its first loss of the season, Union is 4-1 overall with a 0-1 mark in conference play.

 
INSIDE THE BOX SOCRE

• The Herons had a 24-22 edge in shots, an 8-6 advantage in the draw circle and a 17-5 edge in ground balls.
• Union was 20-of-22 clearing the ball and William Smith was 18-23. After starting the game 3-of-6 on its clear attempts, the Herons were 15-of-17 in the final three quarters.

 
MATCH SUMMARY

• The tone of the game was set right from the opening whistle. After a missed shot, Pio caused a turnover on Union's first possession.
• After a scoreless opening seven minutes, William Smith opened the scoring on Quirk's third goal of the season. She cut around a defender and bounced a shot past Widlitz.
• Union tied the game five minutes later on Del Papa's sixth goal of the season.
• Both teams had one more chance in the opening frame, but the goalies made saves in the closing 99 seconds.
• Union took its only lead of the day three minutes into the second quarter. Lana Mickelson slipped around a defender and tucked a shot past Smeader.
• Less than a minute later, Fulton tied the game with her ninth goal of the season. The free-position goal kickstarted a four-goal run for the Herons.
• With 5:02 left in the half, Colvin buried a free position attempt for her second goal of the year.
• Senior Katherine Murray and Colvin added goals in the final 88 seconds to make it 5-2 headed into halftime. Murray's goal was her team-leading 18th of the season. Colvin's tally was her third.
• The Garnet Chargers made it a two-goal game 43 seconds into the third quarter. Greta Maurer notched her sixth of the year.
• One minute later Kira Fulton made it 6-3 with her 10th goal of the year.  The two goals in the first three minutes were the only two of the frame.
• Qurik tacked on an insurance goal just over a minute into the fourth quarter. Her second goal of the game was her fourth of the season.
•  Del Papa scored a woman-up goal with 3:50 left in regulation to round out the scoring.
• Qurik nearly completed her hat trick with 2:21 remaining in the contest, but her shot hit the crossbar.

UP NEXT
William Smith will be back in action tomorrow, March 22, when it heads to Troy to take on Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. The Engineers are 2-0 in league play.  The game is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m.