GENEVA, N.Y.—The 15th-ranked William Smith College lacrosse team fell to Nazareth College 18-10 this afternoon on McCooey Field. The season opener for both teams, the Golden Flyers improve to 1-0, while the Herons slip to 0-1.
Junior Michelle Cook paced Nazareth with a game-high six points, totaling four goals and two assists, while seniors Nora Davis (4 goals) and Stephanie Cash (2 goals-2 assists) each notched four points.
Sophomore
Rosie Scheibel led William Smith with three goals, while sophomore
Kathryn Gillan and senior
Molly Fitzgerald each added two goals and a helper.
Davis started the scoring five minutes, 54 seconds into the contest, but sophomore
Callie Frelinghuysen answered for the Herons with a free-position goal just over two minutes later to even the score. Davis and Gillan traded goals over the next five minutes, making the score 2-all. Another free-position tally, this one from Scheibel, gave William Smith a 3-2 lead with 18:08 to play in the half.
Nazareth outscored the Herons 6-2 over the remainder of the first stanza to take an 8-5 lead into the break. First-year Megan Cregan tallied twice for the Golden Flyers during the run, while Cook and Cash added a goal apiece. Gillan and Scheibel were responsible for the two Heron scores.
Cook netted her second goal of the contest less than two minutes into the second half, giving her team a 9-5 edge. Senior
Brittany Callaghan and Fitzgerald responded with back-to-back goals for William Smith, cutting the hosts’ deficit to 9-7 with 27:28 on the clock.
Nazareth would not allow the Herons to get closer than two goals. The Golden Flyers scored four unanswered over the next eight minutes to take a 13-7 lead. A free-position tally from Fitzgerald cut the lead to five with 19:34 to play, but Nazareth went on to outscore William Smith 5-2 for the remainder of the contest.
Heron first-year goalie
Jesse Wilson collected six saves in her first collegiate game, while senior Ann Sessler stopped 12 shots in net for the Golden Flyers. Both teams took 27 shots.
William Smith will be back in action on March 15, when the Herons take on Brockport in West Palm Beach at 11 a.m.