Senior Brighde Dougherty celebrates after scoring the game-winning goal with 3:25 left to play. The Herons advanced to the UCAA title tilt for the second consecutive year with a 13-12 win over Skidmore. (Photo by Kevin Colton/SPORTSPICS.NET)

May 1, 2004

GENEVA, N.Y.—Senior Brighde Dougherty (Manasquan/Sea Girt, N.J.) netted her second goal of the game with 3:25 left to play in the second half to lead top-seeded William Smith to a 13-12 comeback victory over No. 4 Skidmore College in the Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association Women’s Lacrosse semifinal this afternoon. The Herons outscored the Thoroughbreds 8-2 in the game’s final 20 minutes to earn the victory.

Looking to avenge its 14-2 loss to William Smith (15-1) during the regular season, Skidmore got things started right away as first-year Katie Weber (Princeton Day School/Princeton, N.J.) fired home a shot just 14 seconds into the contest. The Thoroughbreds (9-5) continued to run at the Heron defense, taking a 4-0 lead, before junior Kate Bickford (Lincoln School/Providence, R.I.) tallied William Smith’s first goal at the 9:12 mark.

Two minutes later junior Tracy Genovese (Geneva/Geneva, N.Y.) cut the lead in half, 4-2, with a one-timer off an Ali Herter (Brooks School/Topsfield, Mass.) pass.

Genovese finished the game with a career-high four points on three goals and an assist.

Skidmore responded right away with a goal by junior Kate Shea (Saratoga Springs/Saratoga Springs, N.Y.) to make it a 5-2 game, and tallied three of the session’s final scores for an 8-5 lead at the break.

Weber turned Skidmore’s two-goal run into a four-goal streak with her 32nd and 33rd goals of the season to open the second stanza, putting the Thoroughbreds up 10-5 with 25 minutes to play.

Following a timeout called by Head Coach Pat Genovese William Smith took control of the game. The Herons held Skidmore scoreless for the next 15 minutes, and cut the lead to two on a pair of goals from Gretchen Lasda (West Genesee/Camillus, N.Y.) and one by Bickford with 15 minutes left in the half.

Lasda led all scorers with six points on three goals and three assists, while Bickford tallied a game-high four goals.

Sophomore Emily Clark (Emma Willard/Saratoga, N.Y.) put it back to three for the Thoroughbreds, 11-8, on a free position shot to set up
what proved to be an exciting final 9:51.

Genovese made it a one goal game with her second and third scores of the afternoon off of assists from Lasda and Dougherty, respectively. Skidmore’s Shardae (New Bedford/New Bedford, Mass.) kept things interesting, with an unassisted score at the 22:38 mark for the 12-10 advantage.

Capitalizing on a Skidmore turnover senior Nikki Traino (West Genesee/Syracuse, N.Y.) found Lasda to make it a 12-11 game with just over five minutes left. Bickford tied the game 46 seconds later, while Dougherty gave the Herons their first lead of the day nearly two minutes later on a free position goal.

The Thoroughbreds had one final chance with a free position opportunity with 17 seconds left to play, but senior goalie Becca Splain (Middlebury Union/Middlebury, Vt.) saved her best for last to give the Herons the 13-12 victory.

Splain finished the day with six saves, while Skidmore goalie Sarah Berheide (Saratoga Springs/Saratoga Springs, N.Y.) stopped 12 shots.

Eighth-ranked William Smith will try to tie the program mark for wins in a season (16) when it takes on 15th-ranked Union College in the UCAA Championship game on May 2, at noon, on McCooey Field. The winner earns the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

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