GENEVA, N.Y.—The ninth-ranked William Smith lacrosse team knocked off 20th-ranked St. John Fisher 8-2 in a defensive battle inside the Poole Family Dome this afternoon. With the win, the Herons improve to 4-0 on the season.
 
First-year Cat Colvin paced William Smith's offense, scoring a pair of goals. She added a team-high four ground balls and had two caused turnovers. Senior Delaney Cassidy (1g, 1a) and junior Kira Fulton (1g, 1a) had two points each. The Herons' defense had 20 caused turnovers in the victory. It was the most in a game since they had 20 against Westfield State on May 14, 2017. Senior Caitie Baker led the way with five caused turnovers. Junior Janey Sypeck added four.  In total, 10 Herons had a caused turnover in the game. Junior Grace Rund finished with a game-high eight draw controls. Casey Fiore played all 60 minutes in goal and made four saves.
 
Dharma Makarowsky recorded a goal and an assist in the loss for the Cardinals (2-3). Paige Miller recorded a team-high four ground balls and Chelsea Mesick and Maddie Lowney had three caused turnovers each. Maggie Cross went the distance in goal for St. John Fisher. She had 12 saves.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• The Herons finished the game with a 31-9 advantage in shots, including a 16-5 edge in shots on goal.
• William Smith had a 22-21 edge in ground balls and won the battle in the draw circle 11-2.
• The Herons were 14-for-16 clearing the ball and the Cardinals were 18-for-22 on their clearing attempts.

 
MATCH MOMENTS

• William Smith opened the scoring just over two minutes into the first quarter. Junior Katie Grottenthaler collected a feed from junior Mia Falco and buried her fifth goal of the season.
• One minute later, Cassidy notched her fourth goal of the season. She beat Cross on a free position attempt to give the Herons a 2-0 lead.
• Cassidy's goal would be the game's last goal for the next 30 minutes. The defenses upped the pressure and kept the opposing offenses at bay until the 11:53 mark of the third quarter.
• The teams traded chances in the second quarter but could not find the back of the net. Fiore came up with a huge save two minutes into the frame, robbing Ellie Leisen of a goal.
• In the closing stages of the second quarter, Cross made a save on Cassidy on a free position attempt.
• Colvin broke the scoreless drought with her fourth goal of the season. She collected a pass from Cassidy and ripped a shot past Cross for her fourth goal of het season.
• Just over a minute later, Leisen broke up the shutout bid. She rolled to the front of a cage and slipped a shot past Fiore. The woman-up goal was assisted by Makarowsky.
• Colvin and Fulton scored just over a minute apart to give the Herons a 5-1 lead with 7:28 remaining in the third quarter. Colvin's fifth goal of the year was assisted by Fulton. Fulton's seventh goal of the year was unassisted.
• Rund pocketed her team-leading eighth goal of the season with 34 seconds remaining in the third quarter.
• Makarowsky scored two minutes into the fourth quarter to make it a four-goal game, but that was as close as St. John Fisher would get. Her 11th goal of the season was on a free-position shot.
• Senior Taryn Luzi and first-year Charlotte Crocker rounded out the scoring for William Smith. Luzi's eighth goal of the season was on a free-position shot, and Crocker's goal was a woman-up.

 
UP NEXT
William Smith will be back in action on Saturday, March 14, when it welcomes Skidmore to Geneva to begin Liberty League play. The opening draw is scheduled for 11 a.m.