By Mackenzie Larson, HWS Athletic Communications
GENEVA, N.Y.—William Smith College junior attacker Allie McGinty notched a season-high five assists as the third-ranked Herons defeated Rhodes 17-1 in an NCAA tournament game on Boswell Field at David J Urick Stadium this afternoon. With her first assist of the game, McGinty became the second player in program history to record 100 career assists.
McGinty added a goal to finish the game with six points. She also had two ground balls. Seniors Payton McMahon and Maddie Montgomery scored four goals each and fellow senior Kaitlin Pellechia added a hat trick. Montgomery had a game-high five draw controls. Junior Kate Risley led a dominant defensive effort, recording seven ground balls and three caused turnovers. The Herons limited the Lynx to a season-low one goal and 15 shots. Rhodes came into the game averaging 18.6 goals per game. Sophomore Maura Smeader started in goal and made three saves. Junior Madison Dicks played the fourth quarter and made four saves.
Rhodes concludes its season with a 15-6 overall record. Anna Erskine scored the goal for the Lynx. Caroline Kardian won a team-high four draw controls. Emma Bradley played all 60 minutes in goal and made 10 saves. She also had three caused turnovers and three ground balls.
KEY STATS
- William Smith dominated the stat sheet, finishing the game with a 34-15 edge in shots, a 21-12 in ground balls and a 15-7 edge in the draw circle.
- The Herons were 16-of-20 clearing the ball and the Lynx were 9-for-17 on their clear attempts.
- With five assists in today’s game, McGinty now has 104 for her career. She is second on William Smith’s career list.
- With four goals today, Montgomery now has 73 on the season, matching the Herons’ single-season record held by Heather Dwinell ’88. Montgomery is the lone player in program history to have two 70-goal seasons.
STREAKING
- With today’s win, William Smith extended its winning streak to 19 games. The Herons have won 26 straight games on Boswell Field.
- With points in today’s games, McGinty and Montgomery extended their points streaks to 40 and 34 games, respectively.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- William Smith jumped all over Rhodes, taking a 9-0 lead after 15 minutes. The Herons outshot the Lynx 16-0 in the opening frame.
- Montgomery opened the scoring 47 seconds into the game. Her 70th goal of the season was unassisted. Ninety seconds later McGinty fired home a shot from a tight angle for her 28th goal of the season. It came on William Smith’s first two shots of the game.
- Just over five minutes into the game, Molly Davis bounced home a free position shot for her 27th goal of the year. One minute later, McGinty fed a streaking McMahon for her 30th goal of the season. It was McGinty’s 100th career assist. Pellechia’s 35th goal of the year gave William Smith a 5-0 lead with eight minutes left in the quarter. The woman-up goal was assisted by McGinty. With 7:09 remaining in the frame, Davis extended William Smith’s lead to six goals with her second free position goal of the game.
- Montgomery and Pellechia rounded out the first quarter with goals. Both of Montgomery’s goals were unassisted. McGinty set up Pellechia’s 36th goal of the year.
- Fifty-nine seconds into the second quarter, McMahon dunked home a pass from McGinty for her 31st goal of the year. With 7:33 remaining in the half, Montgomery scored her fourth goal of the game. It was her 73rd goal of the season.
- Two minutes later, Katherine Murray dodged around a defender and slipped a shot into the back of the net. It was her 35th goal of the season. Pellechia completed her hat trick off of a feed from first-year Hannah Evans. Murray rounded out the first half with her 36th goal of the season.
- McMahon opened the second half with back-to-back goals. Her 32nd goal of the season was assisted by Emily Griffin and her 33rd goal of the year was assisted by McGinty. With 2:13 left in the third quarter, Griffin notched her 10th goal of the season.
- Rhodes ended the shutout bid with 12:45 remaining in regulation. Anna Erskine’s 27th goal of the season was assisted by Caroline Kardian.
COACH’S CORNER
“It was a great team win,” Head Coach Anne Phillips said. “I thought we did a great job in the first quarter of dictating the pace and making sure it was not going to be a back-and-forth affair. A lot of people played well. We played our game and didn’t deviate from our game plan based on what Rhodes did. We shot well and cleared the ball well. It was an overall team effort.”
UP NEXT
William Smith will be back in action next Saturday, May 20, when it takes on 19th-ranked St. John Fisher. The location and time of the game was not announced at the time of release.
