By Mackenzie Larson, HWS Athletic Communications
GENEVA, N.Y.—William Smith College seniors Payton McMahon and Maddie Montgomery scored five goals each as the third-ranked Herons defeated the University of Rochester 16-6 in a Liberty League game on Boswell Field at David J Urick Stadium. With the win, the Herons are now 11-0 on the season with a 5-0 mark in Liberty League play.
The five goals were a career-high for McMahon. She added three caused turnovers, two draw controls and four ground balls. Montgomery logged a game-high six points adding an assist to her five goals. She also had four draw controls and a ground ball. Junior Allie McGinty added five points on a goal and four assists. McMahon was one of four players to have three caused turnovers. Junior Kate Risley, sophomore Nikki Pio and first-year Anna Suter also had three caused turnovers. Pio added three ground balls. Sophomore Maura Smeader played all 60 minutes in goal and made seven saves.
Rochester (6-5, 2-3) was led by Lorelei King (2g) and Grace Giannettino (2a) who had two points each. Giannettino also had a team-high three caused turnovers and three draw controls. Emily Greiss went the distance in the goal for Rochester and made nine saves. She had four ground balls.
KEY STATS
- William Smith dominated the stat sheet, finishing with a 41-18 edge in shots, a 22-18 edge in ground balls and a 16-9 lead in the draw circle.
- William Smith was 19-of-21 clearing the ball and Rochester was 16-of-20 clearing the ball.
- At 11-0, the Herons are off to their best start since 1995. The Herons won their first 16 games that season.
FIRST QUARTER
- The Herons jumped out to a 5-1 lead at the end of the first quarter.
- Senior Kaitlin Pellechia opened the scoring at the 11:21 mark of the first period. Her 21st goal of the season was assisted by junior Chloe McGlynn.
- Rochester tied the game less than a minute later on King’s first goal of the game. Her 12th goal of the season was assisted by Giannettino.
- McMahon and Montgomery traded off goals to round out the frame. McMahon’s first goal of the game was assisted by McGinty. The point extended McGinty’s point streak to 32 games.
- With 4:06 remaining in the frame, Montgomery pocketed her first goal of the game and 35th goal of the season. She dodged around a defender and beat the Rochester goalie.
- Two minutes later, McMahon bounced home a free position attempt for her 18th goal of the year.
- Montgomery gave the Herons a four-goal lead with her 36th strike of the season. She collected a feed from McGinty and ripped a shot past Greiss.
SECOND QUARTER
- McGinty extended the run to five goals with her 12th goal of the season. Montgomery was credited with an assist on the goal.
- Grace Crochiere halted William Smith’s run momentarily with her 12th goal of the season with 10:54 remaining in the half.
- The Herons bounced back and put the game out of reach with four unanswered goals to close out the frame.
- First-year Natalie Daniels notched her 18th goal of the year on a free position attempt. She bounced a shot through Greiss’ legs with 8:04 remaining in the frame.
- Sophomore Katherine Murray made it 8-2 with her 22nd goal of the year. She rolled around the top of the eight-meter fan and bounced a shot past the Rochester goalie.
- Just over a minute later, Montgomery completed her hat trick. Her 37th goal of the season was an unassisted tally.
- McMahon notched her hat trick with 54 seconds remaining in the quarter. She flipped a shot past Greiss for her 19th goal of the year. McGinty was credited with an assist on the goal.
THIRD QUARTER
- Early in the third, Montgomery added her fourth goal of the game. It gave William Smith an 11-2 lead four minutes into the second half.
- The Yellowjackets gained a little momentum scoring the next three goals. Lucy Haggerty started the run with her 20th goal of the season. Giannettino had an assist on the goal. Less than a minute later, Alyssa Gorny scored a woman-up goal. Her 28th tally of the season was unassisted. King made it 11-5 with her second goal of the game. Brooke Fiannaca had an assist on the goal.
- McMahon and Daniels scored for William Smith to close out the frame. Both goals were unassisted.
FOURTH QUARTER
- Emma Little scored Rochester’s last goal with 13:06 remaining in regulation. Her 12th goal of the year was an unassisted goal.
- Senior Molly Davis, Montgomery and McMahon rounded out the scoring. All three goals were unassisted.
COACH’S CORNER:
“It was a strong win,” Head Coach Anne Phillips said. “I think we are playing well, but we are not playing as well as we can. We had times when we played perfectly defensively and then we had a little bit of a breakdown. Offensively, we clicked well in the second quarter and in the third, we kind of struggled. We hit the goalie, we didn’t connect on passes like we normally do, but that’s part of being able to battle out of when you are not playing great and we’ve been able to do that this season. When our offense plays at the level they can, it is so pretty to watch. Ultimately this is a big win, to win by 10. It is not easy to win by 10 and we’ve been doing that. We have a big game coming up on Wednesday and we need to click on all cylinders come Wednesday. Every game is an opportunity to be better.”
UP NEXT
William Smith will be back in action Wednesday, April 12, when it welcomes 17th-ranked Ithaca to Boswell Field. The opening draw is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m.