GENEVA, N.Y.—Senior
Molly Fitzgerald matched her career highs for goals (7) and points (9) today, leading the William Smith College lacrosse team to a 24-14 victory over Liberty League foe Skidmore on McCooey Field. The Herons close out their season with an 8-7 overall record and a 4-4 conference mark, while the Thoroughbreds finish 7-10 overall and 3-5 in the Liberty League.
Fitzgerald wrapped her career with 151 goals, 57 assists, and 208 points, ranking her seventh in the William Smith records book in career goals and assists, and eighth in points.
Junior
Cassie Findlay also had a career day, totaling career-highs with six points and four goals. She collected a team-high four draws as well. Sophomore
Lucy Johnson added four goals and a game-high five ground balls, while sophomore
Kathryn Gillan chipped in three goals. Senior
Brittany Callaghan also collected four draws, to go with two goals and an assist.
Sophomore Lauren Madden paced the Thoroughbreds with four goals and a helper, while junior Lindsay Stavola notched three goals and an assist, and junior Lauren McCarthy tallied three times.
William Smith opened the game with a 5-1 scoring run, thanks to tallies from Gillan, first-year
Marissa Potter, Fitzgerald, Johnson and Findlay. Stavola and junior Kimberly Segalas answered for Skidmore with back-to-back goals to cut the lead to two, 5-3, with 21 minutes, 56 seconds to play.
Fitzgerald scored her second of the day 11 seconds later, and set up sophomore
Rosie Scheibel shortly after to give the Herons a 7-3 lead. Scheibel finished with two goals and a helper.
Stavola and Gillan traded goals, before the Thoroughbreds netted three straight to cut their deficit to one, 8-7, with 13:26 left in the half. William Smith responded with four in a row, finishing the stanza with another 5-1 run. Findlay scored twice during the stretch that sent the Herons into halftime with a 13-8 lead.
Madden opened the second half with her second tally of the day to cut the lead to four, 13-9 but Fitzgerald, Gillan, and Johnson netted consecutive goals to grab a 16-9 advantage with 24:14 on the clock. The Herons went on to outscore the Thoroughbreds 8-5 for the remainder of the game, and took an 11-goal lead (23-12) following a free-position tally from Fitzgerald.
First-year Heron goalie
Jesse Wilson picked up eight saves, while sophomore Rachel Klein also collected eight stops for Skidmore.
William Smith owned the advantage in every statistical category, including shots (40-27), ground balls (22-14), and draws (21-19).