AMHERST, Mass.—The William Smith lacrosse team rallied to defeat Amherst College 13-12 in an NCAA tournament second round game at Pratt Field at Lehman Stadium on the campus of Amherst. With the win, the Herons improve to 14-4 on the season.
The Herons will be back in action next Saturday, May 17, when they take on York College of Pennsylvania in the third round of the NCAA tournament. The location and time of the game was not announced at the time of release.
Sophomore Kayla Quirk led the way for the Herons, recording four goals in the game. Junior Taryn Luzi also had a hat trick in the win. Junior Delaney Cassidy had two goals and won a team-high seven draws. Sophomore Janey Sypeck had a game-high three caused turnovers. Senior goaltender Maura Smeader played all 60 minutes in goal and made four saves.
Amherst concludes its season with an 11-6 overall record. Kate Becker led the Mammoths with four points on a goal and three assists. Sofia Guttmann had three goals in the losing effort. Mia Raven won a game-high eight draws. Lily Samoska played all 60 minutes in goal and made six saves.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- In a tightly contested game, Amherst had the edge in shots (26-22) and in the draw circle (15-13).
- William Smith had a 14-9 advantage in ground balls.
- The Herons were 14-for-15 on their clear attempts and Amherst was 17-for-19 clearing the ball.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Amherst jumped out to a 4-0 lead five minutes into the game. Raven and Becker opened the scoring for the Mammoths with free-position goals coming 70 seconds apart. Bridget Finley gave the Mammoths a 3-0 lead on a feed from Becker. Clara Sosa ended the run.
- William Smith swung momentum in its favor when Luzi started a five-goal run for the Herons with five minutes remaining in the first quarter. She converted on a free-position attempt for her 27th goal of the year. Just over a minute later, Quirk got in on the action, pocketing her 16th goal of the season. Both goals came a woman up and made it 4-2 Amherst after 15 minutes.
- Sophomore Kira Fulton and first-year Lauren Collins scored 45 seconds apart to open the second quarter. Fulton's 31st goal of the year was assisted by Kate Colvin and Collins' 10th goal of the year was assisted by Katherine Murray.
- Colvin gave William Smith its first lead of the day with 8:37 left in the half. The free-position goal was her 17th of the year.
- Amherst used a four-goal run of its own to retake the lead. Sofia Guttmann scored the first two goals of the run to make it 6-5 with 4:52 left in the half. Both tallies were unassisted. Ella Shay made it 7-5 with 1 second left in the second stanza. Her tally was assisted by Becker.
- Sydney Kang opened the third quarter, burying a feed from Becker to make it 8-5 with 12:14 remaining in the third quarter.
- For the second time in the game, the Herons used a five-goal run to take the lead. Quirk kick started the run this time, scoring the first two goals of the run. Her 17th goal of the year came on a free-position goal and her 18th was an unassisted tally. Both goals were woman-up. The Herons tied the game 8-8 on Taryn Luzi's 28th goal of the season. It was assisted by Fulton.
- William Smith took a 9-8 lead with 6:58 left in the third quarter on Delaney Cassidy's ninth goal of the season. Luzi then made it a two-goal game with 5:35 left in the frame.
- Morgan Lebek rounded out the third quarter with a goal for Amherst, making it 10-9with 4:18 left in the third quarter.
- Sophomore Mia Flaco opened the fourth quarter with her 29th goal of the year. The goal was assisted by Fulton and gave William Smith an 11-9 lead.
- Amherst scored the next two goals to make it 11-11 with 6:03 remaining in regulation. Guttman and Emily Petersen had the goals for the Mammoths.
- The Herons took the lead for good on goals from Quirk and Cassidy. Both goals were free position attempts and Quirk's came a woman up.
- Amherst had the game's final goal with 3:37 left in the game. Bridget Finley had the tally for Amherst.