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Herons capture second consecutive UCAA title
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The Herons captured their second |
May 2, 2004
GENEVA, N.Y.—Senior attacker Gretchen Lasda (West Genesee/Camillus,
N.Y.) netted a hat trick for the 14th consecutive game to lead William
Smith College to its second consecutive Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association
Tournament title with a 9-8 win over Union College on McCooey Field this
afternoon. The Herons improve to 16-1 overall, matching the program’s
record for wins in a season.
First-year Alexandra Toney (Locust Valley/Bayville, N.Y.) gave the Dutchwomen (13-4) the early 1-0 lead off an assist from junior Molly Flanagan (Loomis Chaffee/Simsbury, Conn.).
Lasda answered Union in a big way, netting three consecutive unassisted goals over a span of five minutes to put the Herons up 3-1 at the 10:18 mark. She finished with a game-high five points.
Toney and Flanagan broke off a scoring streak of their own, combining to tally the game’s next three goals and giving Union the 4-3 advantage. Toney scored first on a free position shot, while Flanagan got on board for the first time at the 19:08 mark. Just over four minutes later it was Toney and Flanagan combination again, putting the Dutchwomen up 4-3.
The two squads continued to trade clusters of goals as William Smith senior Brighde Dougherty (Manasquan/Sea Girt, N.J.) and first-year Sarah Dillon (Blair Academy/Oldwick, N.J.) regained a 5-4 lead for the Herons with a pair of goals with 1:09 left in the half.
Senior Julia Davis (Skaneateles/Skaneateles, N.Y.) got a free position opportunity with seven seconds left and fired it home to even the score at five at the break.
William Smith opened up the second half’s scoring just 52 seconds in with a goal by junior Tracy Genovese (Geneva/Geneva, N.Y.), her sixth of the season. Senior Nikki Traino (West Genesee/Syracuse, N.Y.) fired home a Lasda pass four minutes later to raise the score to 7-5. After some stifling Heron defense in the ensuing minutes, Lasda found junior Kate Bickford (Lincoln School/Providence, R.I.) at the 11:28 mark for an 8-5 William Smith lead.
Union’s Molly Koch (Tabor Academy/Pasadena, Md.) and Kathy Dolezal (Williston Northampton/Clearwater, Fla.) snagged the next two scores to turn it into an 8-7 game, but Genovese tallied what proved to be the game-winner with 8:46 left off a pass from Ali Herter (Brooks School/Topsfield, Mass.). Genovese ended the weekend with six points on five goals and an assist.
Flanagan pulled the Dutchwomen to within one again with a free position goal with 5:02 left to play, but William Smith would run out the clock for the victory.
Flanagan led all Union scorers with four points on two goals and two assists, while Toney notched a hat trick.
Union held a 35-21 advantage on shots and a 39-26 lead on ground balls, while the Herons ended with a 12-6 advantage on draw controls
In goal, senior Becca Splain (Middlebury Union/Middlebury, Vt.) made 14 saves for William Smith, while Union’s Rachel Beckman (Needham/Needham, Mass.) had six stops.
Earning the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, the Herons will find out their fate this evening in a selection show broadcast by College Sports Television at 8:30 p.m.