By Mackenzie Larson, HWS Athletic Communications
SALEM, Va.—The third-ranked William Smith College lacrosse team was defeated by ninth-ranked Gettysburg College 15-10 in a national semifinal at Donald J Kerr Stadium this afternoon. The Herons conclude the season with a 21-1 record.
First-year Natalie Daniels led the way for the Herons with four goals. She also had one caused turnover. Senior Maddie Montgomery had two goals and a team-high nine draw controls. Junior Kate Risley had a game-high three caused turnovers and three ground balls. Sophomore Maura Smeader played all 60 minutes in goal and made eight saves.
Jordan Basso led the way for Gettysburg (19-4) with seven points on six goals and an assists. Julia Daly had five goals. Caroline Sullivan had four assists. Emily Crane logged a goal and two assists and won eight draws. Two Gettysburg players had two caused turnovers. Gill Cortese played all 60 minutes in goal and made seven saves.
KEY STATS
- Gettysburg held a 32-24 edge in shots, an 18-13 edge in ground balls and won the battle in the draw circle 15-12.
- The Bullets were 14-of-15 clearing the ball and the Herons were 14-of-18 on their clear attempts.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Gettysburg opened the scoring 49 seconds into the game. Russo slipped a pass from Emily Crane past Smeader.
- The Herons responded with back-to-back goals to make it 2-1 with five minutes left in the opening frame. Daniels scored an unassisted goal. Five minutes later, senior Molly Davis and Payton McMahon connected on a give-and-go.
- Gettysburg tied the game 2-2 at the end of the first quarter on Basso’s second goal of the game. Sullivan was awarded an assist on the tally. The Bullets took a lead just over two minutes into the second quarter. Gabi Connor pocketed the goal.
- Less than a minute later, Daniels made it 3-3 with her second goal of the game on a free position attempt. Gettysburg regained a one-goal lead on Connor’s second goal of the game. Junior Allie McGinty made it 4-4 with 8:05 left in the half. The unassisted goal extended her point streak to 43 games.
- Gettysburg seized control of the game scoring the next six goals, including five in the final seven minutes of the first half. Basso scored four times during the run. Emily Crane and Julia Daly also scored.
- William Smith made things interesting, rattling off four unanswered goals to cut the deficit to 10-8, but that was as close as the Herons would get. Daniels’ hat trick goal started the run with 12:09 left in the third quarter. Montgomery notched the next two goals both on free position shots. The second goal was a woman-up goal. Three minutes later, Molly Davis notched her second goal of the game.
- Emily Crane scored with 3:42 left in the third quarter, starting a three-goal Gettysburg run that put the game out of reach. Daly scored twice to open the fourth quarter, giving Gettysburg a 13-8 lead with 12 minutes left in regulation.
- McMahon briefly halted the Gettysburg run with 8:52 remaining in regulation. First-year Hannah Evans was awarded an assist on the goal.
- Daly made it 15-9 with 5:23 left in regulation thanks to back-to-back goals.
- First-year Natalie Daniels rounded out the scoring off a pass from McGinty.
RECORD BREAKER
- The 2023 season was one for the record books for the Herons. William Smith finished the year with a program record 21 wins that included a 21-game win streak to start the season.
- The Herons’ 340 goals broke the previous season’s record by 20 goals.
- Maddie Montgomery finished the season with 84 goals, 11 more than Heather Dwinell’s record from 1988. With two points today, Montgomery finished the year with 101 points. She is just the third person in program history to record 100 points in a season.
