The eighth-ranked William Smith lacrosse team was edged by 18th-ranked St. John Fisher 8-5 in a tightly contested defensive game at Growney Stadium this afternoon. With the loss, William Smith falls to 5-3 overall this season.
The Herons’ defense of sophomore Janey Sypeck, junior Lily Kuhn, and seniors Livvy Von Heill and Nikki Pio limited the Cardinals to a season-low eight goals. St. John Fisher came into the game ninth in the nation, averaging 16.67 goals per game. They combined four eight caused turnovers. Maura Smeader played all 60 minutes in goal and made five saves.
Offensively, Sophomore Kira Fulton and junior Natalie Daniels scored twice for the Herons. Daniels added an assist to finish the game with three points. Daniels also had a game-high 10 draw controls and four players had two ground balls each.
Hanna Kumpf had three points on a goal and two assists to lead St. John Fisher (7-0). Sydney Carpenter and Emma Biel added two goals each. Carpenter also had three ground balls. Kaylee Gadrol played all 60 minutes in goal and made seven saves.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- The Cardinals finished the game with a 23-20 edge in shots and a 16-14 advantage in ground balls.
- William Smith dominated the battle in the draw circle 15-4.
- The Herons were 21-of-22 clearing the ball and Fisher was 23-of-25 on its clear attempts.
SCORING SUMMARY
- William Smith opened the scoring with 8:49 left in the opening frame. Daniels ripped a shot past the Fisher goalie. It was her 16th goal of the season.
- One minute later, St. John Fisher answered on a Mary Fiorentino goal.
- Those would be the only two goals of the opening frame as the teams ended the first 15 minutes tied 1-1.
- Fulton scored the next two goals to give William Smith a 3-1 lead with 7:46 left in the half. Her first goal of the game was assisted by Katherine Murray and her second was assisted by Daniels.
- The Cardinals answered with the final two goals of the half. Sydney Carpenter and Chelsea Lopata had the tallies for the Herons. Lopata set up Carpenter’s goal and Hanna Kumpf set up Lopata’s goal.
- The third quarter was a battle of the defenses with each team only getting one in the frame.
- Carpenter gave St. John Fisher a 4-3 lead with 6:09 left in the frame. Her goal was on a free position attempt.
- Katerine Murray tied the game three minutes later with a coast-to-coast sprint. It was her 22nd goal of the season.
- The Cardinals retook the lead Just over two minutes into the fourth quarter. Kumpf cut from the back of the net and dunked a shot past Smeader.
- Daniels tied the game two minutes later with a worm burner on a free position attempt. It was her 17th goal of the season.
- Biel scored two of the final three goals for the Cardinals as they went on a three-goal run to close out the fourth quarter. Kaley Griffin also scored in the fourth quarter for St. John Fisher.
UP NEXT
William Smith will be back in action on Saturday, March 29, when they head to Saratoga Springs to take on Skidmore. The Liberty League contest is scheduled to begin at Noon.
Kyle leads sports coverage and hosts the Concrete Jungle podcast. Have a lead or question? Send it to [email protected].