April 2, 2005

GENEVA, N.Y.—Ithaca College held William Smith College scoreless in the final 22 minutes of the second half to upend the Herons, 7-6 in women’s lacrosse action this morning on McCooey Field. The Bombers scored the game’s final three goals to earn the one-goal victory over No. 19 William Smith in the annual Heron Draw.

The Herons (3-3) controlled the early action, taking a 3-0 advantage in the opening 5:54. First-year Rachel Stahl (Charles W. Baker/Baldwinsville, N.Y.) put William Smith up 1-0 just 51 seconds into the contest with the first of her game-high three goals. Senior Kate Bickford (Lincoln School/Providence, R.I.) and sophomore Jessica Scott (Waynflete School/Portland, Maine) each added tallies to give William Smith the early three-goal lead.

The Bombers (5-3) climbed right back into the contest by scoring four consecutive goals, including three in a span of 1:35. Senior Lindsey Breese (Geneva/Geneva, N.Y.) jump-started the offense at the 23:43 mark, while first-year Meagan Howell (Newark/Newark, N.Y.) made it 3-2 just 38 seconds later. Senior Mariah Casserly (Canton/Canton, N.Y.) finished her free position shot less than a minute later, while classmate Jenni Bryant (Concord-Carlisle/Concord, Mass.) completed the run that gave the Bombers their first lead of the game.

Stahl and sophomore Sarah Dillon (Blair Academy/Oldwick, N.J.) combined to stop Ithaca’s scoring spurt and the two squads headed into the break tied at four.

It was the Stahl and Dillon connection against that started the second stanza and gave the Herons a 5-4 lead with 26:50 on the clock. Four minutes later Dillon rifled her free position shot over the left shoulder of Lindsay Mayfield (Nichols/East Aurora, N.Y.) to put William Smith ahead by two. Dillon finished with three points on a goal and two assists.

It was all Ithaca though in the final 20 minutes as the Bombers got the next three goals and held the Heron offense in check to earn their fifth win of the year. Sophomore Khrista Trerotola (Amherst Central/Amherst, N.Y.) scored the game-winner for Ithaca at the 16:50 mark.

Casserly and Howell both had a pair of scores to lead Ithaca.

Ithaca held a slight 21-19 advantage in shots and won the ground ball battle 24-21. In goal first-year Adele Hayward (Hyde School/Windchester, Mass.) made six stops, while Mayfield had eight saves.

William Smith returns to action tomorrow, April 3, hosting Denison University at 2 p.m.

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