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Herons clinch top seed with 13-9 win
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Jessica Tanner |
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Jesse McKenna |
April 22, 2006
POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y.—The William Smith College lacrosse team clinched the top seed in the Liberty League Tournament this afternoon with a 13-9 victory at Vassar College on Prentiss Field. Senior midfielder Jessica Tanner (Guilderland/Schenectady, N.Y.) and sophomore attacker Jesse McKenna (Middlesex School/Wenham, Mass.) each registered four points to pace the Herons.
Entering this afternoon’s Liberty League tilt, William Smith (9-5 overall, 7-1 conference) controlled its own destiny by virtue of a Herons win at Rensselaer coupled with a Hamilton victory over Skidmore the previous day.
With the regular season crown in its sight, William Smith jumped out to an early 2-0 lead. Senior attacker Louise Greenwood (Springside School/Wyndmoor, Pa.) got the ball rolling at the 9:26 mark, while Tanner followed suit less than a minute later. McKenna set up both scores and matched her season-high with four helpers, raising her team-leading total to 18.
The Brewers (7-8, 1-7) connected on back-to-back goals to tie the contest at 2-2, but the Herons strung together three tallies to take a 5-2 advantage. Greenwood and Tanner sandwiched their second scores of the contest around senior defender Jenn Davidson’s (South Burlington/South Burlington, Vt.) second goal of the season.
William Smith led 5-3 at the intermission.
After both teams exchanged goals to open the second stanza, the Herons seized control of the contest with six unanswered markers, building their largest lead, 12-4. Junior midfielder Sarah Dillon (Blair Academy/Oldwick, N.J.) keyed the surge with three tallies, while classmate Jessica Scott (Waynflete School/Portland, Maine) added a pair. Both Dillon and Scott turned in three-goal performances for the second straight game. William Smith’s leading scorer, Dillon, has 31 goals on the season, while Scott has netted 15.
The hosts answered the Herons’ run with three scores of their own to pull within five, but junior attacker Hannah Wesley (Avon/Avon, Conn.) registered an insurance goal to seal the victory with just 3:46 remaining in regulation. It was her second goal of the season.
In goal, sophomore Morgan Baird (Pingree School/Gloucester, Mass.) posted three saves in 47 minutes of action, while first-year Becky Josefiak (West Seneca East/West Seneca, N.Y.) turned back a pair of Vassar offerings in 13 minutes.
William Smith concludes its regular season slate at 1 p.m. on April 29, as the Herons travel to Ithaca.