GENEVA, N.Y. - A late defensive stand gave the Williams College women's lacrosse team an 11-10 victory over William Smith College, extending the Ephs' season by at least another week as the team moves into the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. The Herons, ranked 5th in the latest IWLCA poll and 7th in the NPI, finish the season with a 17-3 record, while the Ephs move to 11-7 on the season.
A player-up goal from
Sydney Puntus after
Katy McCullough found her teammate through traffic in front of the net gave Williams an 11-9 lead with 3:46 remaining in the game. The Herons scored with 1:01 remaining to bring the score within one goal, and the hosts won the draw and put the Ephs under pressure. The Williams defense held firm and kept William Smith from getting off a final shot, giving the Ephs the narrow victory.
McCullough led the way for the Ephs offensively with three goals, all of which came during a stretch at the end of the first half and beginning of the second in which Williams scored five straight, changing the game from a 5-4 deficit to a 9-5 lead.
Franny Donohue, the team's leading scorer on the season, was the top provider on the day, with three assists, the most of any player on either team.
Puntus had a pair of goals, as did
Reece Willison, and four players had a single goal: Donohue,
Anna Miller,
Paige Nelson and
McKenna Dwyer. Willison, McCullough, and
Coco Norman also had an assist.
Meaghan Day had another great game defensively, with three caused turnovers and three ground balls, and
Katie Fitzgerald also had three caused turnovers and a pair of ground balls. In goal,
Charlotte Cote made seven saves, including several big stops in the third and fourth quarters to earn the win.
The first quarter saw an offensive explosion, with both teams putting up big numbers. After a William Smith goal to open the game, Willison scored twice in a row, and later goals from Puntus and Nelson gave the Ephs a 4-3 advantage at the end of the period. The Herons scored twice to open the second quarter before the Ephs started their run, scoring three straight to end the half and two more to open the second to give them the biggest lead of the game.
The Herons started to chip away, getting three goals before the end of the third quarter to bring the score back within a single goal at 9-8 for Williams.
Anna Miller's goal at the start of the fourth quarter put the lead at 10-8, and then the teams traded opportunities for eight minutes before William Smith finally broke through with 6:37 remaining. Puntus' goal with 3:47 left proved to be the difference.
The Ephs advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2014, and will face the winner of the Colorado College vs. Rhodes College game being held later on Saturday 5/10. More information on the location and time of the game will be announced as soon as it is available.
