Still Kicking: Herons Stagger No. 8 Cortland
from press release
GENEVA, N.Y.—First-year goalie Jesse Wilson stopped
a season-high 12 shots and sophomore Lucy Johnson tallied a game-
and season-high six points, to lead the William Smith College
lacrosse team to a 14-13 upset over eighth-ranked Cortland this
afternoon on McCooey Field. The Herons battled back from a six-goal
deficit to improve to 6-4 on the season. The Red Dragons slip to
8-2 overall.
Johnson's six points came on four and two assists. Senior Molly
Fitzgerald netted three goals for William Smith, while sophomore
Rosie Scheibel added two goals and a helper. First-year Kathleen
Ragan (2 goals) and junior Cassie Findlay (1 goal-1 assist) each
registered two points.
Cortland's Lindsay Abbott shared game-high honors with six points
on five goals and an assist. Her fifth goal marked the 100th of her
career; she became just the fourth sophomore in Red Dragon history
to reach that milestone. Jess Fritz (3 goals) and Kelly Radigan (1
goal-2 assists) each totaled three points, while Maria Di Fato
added two goals.
Erin Kollar put the first point on the board for Cortland 5
minutes, 11 seconds into the contest. Johnson answered for the
Herons with an unassisted tally just 15 seconds later.
The Red Dragons exploded for six unanswered goals over the next 11
minutes, thanks to four goals from Abbott and two from Di Fato, to
take a 7-1 lead with 14:47 remaining in the stanza. Findlay stopped
Cortland's scoring run at the 13:30 mark, finishing a pass from
Scheibel, but Nicki Mahoney put the visitors back up by six, 8-2,
just over two minutes later.
The Herons rallied to end the first half with a 3-1 scoring run,
sparked by an unassisted goal from sophomore Callie Frelinghuysen
with 10:02 to play. After tallies from Abbott, Fitzgerald, and
Ragan, Cortland carried a 9-5 lead into the break.
William Smith continued to push, opening the second half with four
unanswered goals, including two from Johnson, to tie the game at
9-all with 19:12 on the clock. Fritz netted her first of the day to
take the lead back for the Red Dragons, but Johnson responded to
even the game at 10-all. With just over 11 minutes remaining,
sophomore Kathryn Gillan gave the Herons their first lead,
11-10.
Fritz again had the answer, scoring back-to-back goals to give
Cortland a 12-11 edge, but Fitzgerald, Scheibel, and Ragan scored
the next three to give William Smith a 14-12 advantage with 7:33 to
play. Radigan got the Red Dragons back within one with just over a
minute to go, but the Herons won the ensuing draw to secure the
victory.
The Red Dragons outshot their hosts 33-23 and held a 17-12
advantage in draws, but William Smith led the ground ball game
16-13.
Cortland goalie Ally Levy finished with seven saves.
William Smith will be back in action on April 17, when the Herons
host third-ranked Hamilton for a Liberty League game at 2 p.m.
