GENEVA, N.Y.—The fifth-ranked William Smith lacrosse team defeated Union 13-8 in the Liberty League Tournament championship game at Urick Stadium this afternoon. With the win, the Herons improve to 17-2 on the season.
It was William Smith's 10th Liberty League Tournament title in program history. With the win, the Herons secured the Liberty League's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. The entire tournament field will be announced with a selection show on Monday, May 4, at 10:30 a.m.
Eight different players scored in the win for William Smith. Junior
Kira Fulton led the way for the Herons, recording six points on three goals and three assists. First-year
Cat Colvin added five points on three goals and two assists. Junior
Grace Rund won a game-high six draws. Sophomore
Maeve Barrins and junior
Janey Sypeck had two caused turnovers each. Graduate student
Casey Fiore made seven saves in goal. She also had a game-high four ground balls.
Maddy Schiller led the way for the Garnet Chargers (13-6). She had four points on three goals and an assist. Christina Guanci had two goals. Hannah Compa led Union with five draw controls. Maddie Greco had two caused turnovers, four ground balls and three draw controls. Sydney Widlitz made five saves in 60 minutes in goal.
MVP
- Fulton was named the Tournament's Most Outstanding Performer. The junior finished the weekend with 11 points on seven goals and four assists. She also had a caused turnover and two ground balls on the weekend.
- Fulton has had at least one point in all 19 games this season and extended her overall point streak to 33 games. She has points in 37 of her last 38 games.
CLIMBING THE LADDER
- With six draw controls today, Rund became just the third Heron to win 100 draws in a single-season. Her 105 draw wins are third on William Smith's single-season list, one behind Maddie Montgomery's 2022 mark. Natalie Daniels holds the record at 128. She also won 101 draws last year.
- Sypeck's two caused turnovers today brought her season total to 44 and her career total to 97. She is third on William Smith's single-season list and fourth on the career list.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- William Smith finished the game with a 32-22 advantage in shots and a 15-10 edge in shots on goal.
- The Herons also had a 14-9 edge in the draw circle and a 16-12 advantage in ground balls.
- William Smith was 21-for-25 clearing the ball and Union was 16-for-17 on its clear attempts.
MATCH MOMENTS
- The Herons jumped out to a 3-0 lead just over three minutes into the game. Senior Taryn Luzi opened the scoring with her 34th goal of the season. It was an unassisted tally. Just under a minute later, senior Delaney Cassidy converted on a feed from junior Mia Falco. Her 21st goal of the year was a woman-up goal. Eleven seconds later, Fulton scored an unassisted goal to make it 3-0. It was her 29th goal of the season.
- Union scored four of the game's next five goals. Gillian Joseph's 59th goal of the year broke up the shutout bid. She ripped a free-position shot into the back of the net with 9:19 left in the frame.
- Falco made it 4-1 with her 26th goal of the season. Her tally was set up by Colvin.
- Schiller and Compa scored in the closing stages of the opening frame, to make it 4-3 after 15 minutes. Schiller's goal came on a free-position shot and Compa's woman-up goal was set up by Lana Mickelson.
- Christina Guanci tied the game up three minutes into the second quarter. Her 35th goal of the year was set up by Schiller.
- The Herons then went on a 6-1 run to seize control of the game. Colvin kickstarted the run when she slammed home a feed from Fulton for her 29th goal of the year. Two minutes later, Rund scored a free-position goal to make it 6-4. It was her 34th goal of the year. With 7:27 left in the half, Fulton notched her 30th of the season.
- Guanci momentarily halted the William Smith run with 90 seconds left in the first half. It was her 36th goal of the year.
- Junior Katie Grottenthaler gave the Herons an 8-5 lead with 24 seconds remaining in the first half. The woman-up goal extended her points streak to 36 games. It was a free-position goal.
- Sophomore Lauren Collins made it 9-5 with her 11th goal of the year. It was assisted by Fulton. Two minutes later, Luzi scored a woman-up goal, converting on a feed from Falco.
- Maddie Doyle and Schiller scored back-to-back goals to make it 10-7 with 14:01 left in regulation, but that would be as close as the Garnet Chargers would get. Doyle's goal came on a free-position shot and Schiller's goal was a woman-up goal.
- Colvin scored two of William Smith's final three goals of the game to complete her hat trick. Her 30th goal of the year was assisted by Grottenthaler, and her 31st was set up by Fulton. Fulton also had a tally in the sequence. Her goal was set up by Colvin.
MVP'S TAKE
COACH'S CORNER
