GENEVA, N.Y.—The fifth-ranked William Smith lacrosse team was edged by 20th-ranked Williams 11-10 in a NCAA second round game on Boswell Field this afternoon. The Herons closed out the game on a 5-2 run, and the Ephs held on for an 11-10 victory.
William Smith concludes its season with a 17-3 overall record. Williams (11-7) advances to the third round of the NCAA tournament, where it will face Colorado College.
Senior
Taryn Luzi finished the contest with a game-high five points on four goals and an assist. Juniors
Kira Fulton (1g, 2a) and
Mia Falco (2g, 1a) each had three points. Junior
Grace Rund won a game-high seven draws and had a ground ball. Senior
Delaney Cassidy had two draw controls, a game-high three caused turnovers and picked up three ground balls. She also had a goal and an assist. Graduate student
Casey Fiore played all 60 minutes in goal. She had five saves and three ground balls.
Franny Donohue (1g, 3a) and Katy McCullough (3g, 1a) led the way for Williams with four points each. Eight different players won a draw for the Ephs. Meaghan Day and Katie Fitzgerald had three caused turnovers each, and Day had a team-high three ground balls. Charlotte Cote made seven saves in the Williams' goal.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- The Herons concluded the contest with a 24-19 advantage in shots, including a 17-16 edge in shots on goal.
- In addition to Cote's seven saves, William Smith hit the post five times in the game.
- The Ephs had a 19-17 edge in ground balls, and the Herons enjoyed a 15-8 advantage in the draw circle.
- The Ephs went 18-for-18 on their clear attempts and the Herons were 20-for-23.
SCORING SUMMARY
- William Smith opened the scoring one minute into the game. Luzi collected a pass from Fulton in front of the cage and slammed home her 36th goal of the season. It was a woman-up goal.
- Williams answered with a pair of unassisted goals from Reece Willison. They were her 18th and 19th tallies of the season. It was the start of a 4-1 run from the Ephs.
- Junior Katie Grottenthaler briefly halted the Williams' run. She collected a pass from Cassidy and ripped a shot past Cote for her 36th goal of the season.
- One minute later, Sydney Punts scored to give Williams a 3-2 lead. Her 12th goal of the year was assisted by Coco Norman. Paige Nelson notched her 15th goal of the year with 2:43 remaining in the opening stanza. Her goal was set up by Willison.
- William Smith rattled off the next three goals to take a 5-4 lead with 4:44 left in the half. Luzi started the run with her 38th goal of the year. She once again buried a feed from Fulton on the doorstep. Luzi then tied the game five minutes into the second quarter on a free position shot. First-year Cat Colvin gave the Herons the lead with her 32nd goal of the year.
- The Ephs flipped momentum in their favor, scoring the game's next five goals. McCullough scored twice in the second quarter and then McKenna Dwyer notched a goal, giving Williams a 7-5 lead at the halftime break. McCullough completed her hat trick three minutes into the third quarter. Donohue had three assists on the four goals. She then scored a goal of her own, ripping home a free position with 8:30 left in the stanza.
- After a timeout from Anne Phillips, The Herons scored three goals in two minutes to make it 9-8. Falco and Luzi had a goal and an assist each during the stretch. Falco's 27th goal of the year was set up by Colvin, Luzi's team-leading 39th goal of the year was set up by Falco and then Fulton's 32nd goal of the year was set up by Luzi.
- In the fourth quarter, both teams scored two goals each, preserving the one-goal margin. Anna Miller and Puntus had the goals for the Ephs and Falco and Cassidy had the tallies for the Herons.
- Cassidy's goal came off a spectacular individual sequence where the senior had a caused turnover, ground ball and then split a pair of defenders to score her 22nd goal of the year. It made it 11-10 with 61 seconds remaining. The senior then won the ensuing draw to set up one final possession. William Smith got a shot off at the buzzer, but it hit the side of the net.
SENIOR SALUTE
The William Smith Class of 2026 concludes its career with a 72-13 overall record.
Delaney Cassidy,
Alexandra Tapia,
Claire Davenport,
Natalie Daniels,
Caitie Baker,
Lily Kuhn,
Hannah Evans and
Taryn Luzi guided the Herons to, four NCAA tournament appearances, including two trips to the national semifinals, two Liberty League tournament titles and three Liberty League regular season titles. Their 72 wins are the second most by a graduating class.
CLIMBING THE LADDER
- Grace Rund finished the season with 112 draw controls. That is second on William Smith's single-season list. Rund is already ninth on the Herons' career list.
- With two caused turnovers today, junior Janey Sypeck concluded the season with 46 caused turnovers, tied for second on William Smith's single-season list. The Herons 232 caused turnovers as a team are third on the Herons' single-season list.
POSTGAME PRESSCONFERENCE
