GENEVA, N.Y. – William Smith pulled away in the latter stages of the second half to defeat the Skidmore College women's lacrosse team, 8-3, in Liberty League action on a rain-soaked Saturday at Boswell Field.
The Thoroughbreds fall to 4-2 in league play and 8-5 overall. The Herons, ranked ninth in the latest IWLCA Coaches poll, remain perfect in the conference at 5-0 and are 12-1 overall.
Cas Szwajkowski tallied her 100th career goal in the second half of the contest, leading the team with two goals on the afternoon. Szwajkowski has scored 50 goals in each of her first two seasons as a Thoroughbred.
Allison Byrne also tallied a goal to wrap up the Skidmore scoring.
Tyler Phillips added an assist.
Phillips and
Rachel Talanian each snagged five ground balls on the defensive end. Talanian also won three draws and caused four turnovers. Talanian, the program's all-time leader in caused turnovers, is three ground balls shy of the all-time mark of 211, set by Annie Ledyard.
Megan Kolopsky stopped 11 shots in goal, adding a ground ball.
Bizzer Gahagan led the Herons with three goals, while Alexandra Bird added a pair. Sarah Honan made four saves in the victory.
It was a low-scoring affair between two solid defenses in the first half. William Smith tallied the only goal of the frame on Gahagan's tally at 8:26. Scoring picked up in the second half, with the Herons opening a two-goal advantage at 25:15. Byrne got Skidmore on the board 1:07 later, her 10th goal of the season.
William Smith tallied two more to take a 4-1 lead. Skidmore got back into it, with Szwajkowski scoring her 99th and 100th career tallies, getting the Thoroughbreds within one with 8:23 to go. However, the Herons took back the momentum, scoring four straight to end the game.
The Herons held a 24-10 advantage in shots. Skidmore had a 17-16 edge in ground balls and a 7-6 lead in draws. William Smith was successful on 17-of-24 clear attempts, while Skidmore finished 14-for-19.
Skidmore will return for its last pair of home contests in the regular season next weekend. The Thoroughbreds will begin with a Friday matchup against Vassar at 4 p.m.
