ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Visiting William Smith went on a 10-3 scoring spree in the second half Wednesday to break open a close game as the 16th-ranked Herons defeated Nazareth in a non-conference women's lacrosse game, 17-6, at Golden Flyer Stadium.

The Herons improved to 8-2 overall by getting three goals and one assist apiece from junior Sarah Goodkind (Greenwich, CT) and sophomore Cassie Findlay (Riverside, CT) and two goals and three assists from junior Molly Fitzgerald (Sudbury, MA) added two goals and three assists. Freshman Lucy Johnson (Short Hills, NJ) also had three goals. Junior Nora Davis (Bishop Ludden.Syracuse, NY) netted four goals for the Golden Flyers, who dropped to 7-5 overall.

The game was scoreless for the first nine minutes, before William Smith scored twice in a 21-second span and never trailed thereafter. Junior Brittany Callaghan (Armonk, NY) got the Herons on the board with an unassisted score and Johnson followed with an unassisted score of her own. Senior Shanon Lattimore (Auburn, NY) scored a free-position goal to get Nazareth on the board with 16:04 left.

The Herons went on to take a 7-1 lead when Johnson scored her second goal with 5:13 left in the half. Nazareth scored the last two goals of the first half -- Davis and sophomore Michelle Cook (Waterloo, NY) -- and the first goal of the second half -- Davis from Cook -- to close to within 7-4.

The Herons then erased any Nazareth comeback hopes by rattling off five straight goals in a 10-minute stretch that yielded a 12-4 lead with less than 18 minutes left. Findlay and Fitzgerald each scored twice in that stretch.

William Smith had advantages in shots (39-24) and ground balls (26-14). Herons' goalie Becky Josefiak (West Seneca, NY) made 13 saves, while Nazareth goalies Maria Fusco (Chaumont, NY) and Ann Sessler (Cazenovia, NY) combined for 15 stops.

Nazareth returns to its Empire 8 Conference schedule this weekend with road games at Hartwick Saturday and at Stevens Sunday.

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PITTSFORD, N.Y.-The 16th-ranked William Smith College lacrosse team downed Nazareth 17-6 this afternoon at Golden Flyer Stadium. The Herons improve to 8-2 overall, while the Golden Flyers drop to 7-5 on the season.

Junior Molly Fitzgerald (Gould Academy/Sudbury, Mass.) totaled five points on two goals and three assists to lead William Smith, while first-year Lucy Johnson (Millburn/Short Hill, N.J.), sophomore Cassie Findlay (Episcopal/Riverside, Conn.), and junior Sarah Goodkind (Millbrook School/Greenwich, Conn.) all notched three goals and a helper.

Nora Davis led Nazareth with four goals, and Michelle Cook added a goal and two assists.

The Herons opened the scoring after nearly 10 minutes of action. Junior Brittany Callaghan (St. Luke's School/Armonk, N.Y.) put the first point on the board with 20 minutes, 51 seconds to play in the half. Twenty-one seconds later, Johnson netted her first of the day to increase William Smith's lead to 2-0.

The Golden Flyers' Shannon Lattimore tallied on a free-position shot with 16:04 on the clock, but the Herons countered with five unanswered goals to take a comfortable 7-1 lead with 5:13 remaining in the stanza. Findlay sparked the scoring run, followed by first-year Callie Frelinghuysen (Darien/Darien, Conn.), Johnson, and two from Goodkind. The Golden Flyers scored twice to end the session, cutting their halftime deficit to 7-3.

Davis brought Nazareth within three, 7-4, to start the second half, but the Golden Flyers would not get closer. William Smith went on to outscore its host 10-2 for the remainder of the contest.

Senior Heron goalie Becky Josefiak (West Seneca East/West Seneca, N.Y.) collected 13 saves, while Maria Fusco and Ann Sessler combined to make 15 stops for Nazareth. William Smith outshot the Golden Flyers 39-24.

The Herons will be back in action on April 18, when they host Rochester for a Liberty League contest at 2:00 p.m.

2009-04-15