April 3, 2004

GENEVA, N.Y.—The William Smith College lacrosse team got on the board just 32 seconds into the game and never looked back on its way to a 17-9 win over visiting Denison University on McCooey Field this afternoon. Senior attacker Gretchen Lasda (West Genesee/Camillus, N.Y.) led all scorers with six points on three goals and three assists.

Winning the opening draw, the Herons (6-1) marched right down the field to take a 1-0 lead on a goal from sophomore Jessica Tanner (Guilderland/Schenectady, N.Y.) on an assist from Lasda with just 32 ticks off the scoreboard. Senior Meghan Fitzgerald (Dana Hall School/Sudbury, Mass.) fired home a free position shot 30 seconds later to make it a 2-0 goal game.

Denison (3-3) cut the lead to one at the 3:19 mark with an unassisted score from sophomore Courtney Abrams (Bullis School/Washington, D.C.), her 14th of the season. The early scoring frenzy continued, as William Smith answered 42 seconds later on a goal by senior Lindsay Teague (Geneva/Geneva, N.Y.).

Sophomore attacker Liz Hollick (Roland Park Country Day/Baltimore, Md.) kept the Big Red close capitalizing on a free position shot at the 6:27 mark to make it a 3-2 game.

Six minutes later first-year Jessica Scott (Waynflete School/Portland, Maine) started a big run for the Herons with her third goal of the season. William Smith tallied nine of the next 10 goals, including three from Lasda, to head into halftime with a 13-3 lead.

Facing a 10-goal deficit coming out of the break, Denison opened the second frame with free position goals from Hollick and Abrams, cutting it to an eight goal lead. William Smith, however, shut down the Big Red’s chances at a comeback with the next three goals.

Denison closed out the contest with four of the final five scores, including two by senior Sarah Lowell (Phillips Exeter Academy/Freeport, Maine).

Hollick led the Big Red with three goals, while Lowell complied three points on a pair of goals and an assist.

The Herons held a 37-17 advantage on shots and picked up 26 ground balls to Denison’s 16.

In goal, William Smith senior Becca Splain (Middlebury Union/Middlebury, Vt.) had seven stops, while first-year backstop Carolyn Hicks (Hawken School/Gates Mills, Ohio) made 12 saves for Denison.

The eighth-ranked Herons return to McCooey Field on April 4, to take on 14th-ranked Ithaca College at 2 p.m.

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