Gretchen Lasda

April 20, 2004

GENEVA, N.Y.—William Smith College senior Gretchen Lasda (West Genesee/Camillus, N.Y.) fired home a free position shot with 62 seconds left in the second half to lift the Heron lacrosse team to an 8-7 victory over visiting Cortland this afternoon on McCooey Field. She led all scorers with four points on three goals and an assist, her 10th consecutive game with at least three scores.

In back and forth action in the opening half, the Herons (12-1) got on the board first at the 3:05 mark on a tally by Lasda, while senior midfielder Brighde Dougherty (Manasquan/Sea Girt, N.J.) made it a 2-0 contest 22 seconds later.

The Red Dragons’ (7-4) senior midfielder Sara Gorman (Lindenhurst/Lindenhurst, N.Y.) answered with a pair of goals of her own to tie the game at two just seven minutes into the game.

The furious scoring pace continued as senior Nikki Traino (West Genesee/Syracuse, N.Y.) notched her 16th goal of the season 29 seconds later for a 3-2 lead.

Cortland once again had an answer, but this time it was senior attacker Michelle Michaels (West Genesee/Syracuse, N.Y.) who fired in two scores to put the Dragons ahead 4-3, with 18 minutes still remaining in the first half.

The scoring slowed after that as William Smith and Cortland traded scores in the remaining 18 minutes, with the Red Dragons holding a 5-4 lead going into the break.

The Herons took an early lead with two goals in the opening minutes of the second stanza, but Cortland’s Kerri Finn (West Islip/West Islip, N.Y.) evened the score midway through the period that would set up the exciting final four minutes.

With 3:32 left to play, first-year Jessica Scott (Waynflete School/Portland, Maine) stepped up and put away her free position shot to give William Smith the 7-6 advantage. She finished the afternoon with one goal and an assist.

First-year Jennifer Willis (Walt Whitman/Huntington, N.Y.) won the ensuing draw for the Dragons and found her classmate Ali Bourgal (Sachem/Farmingville, N.Y.) open to tie the game for the fourth time with 2:28 remaining in regulation.

Gorman finished with three points on two goals and an assist for Cortland, while Michaels and Bourgal both chipped in a pair of tallies.

Cortland picked up the draw again, but senior goalie Becca Splain (Middlebury Union/Middlebury, Vt.) picked up a loose ground ball for the Herons and started the attack right away with a clearing pass that eventually found a streaking Lasda. Fouled as she was going to goal, Lasda stepped up to the eight-meter mark and fired home the free position opportunity to secure the victory.

Cortland got two more good looks at the goal, but Splain was up to the task, earning her 12th win of the season.

William Smith held a slight 28-25 advantage on shots, while Cortland edged out the Herons 27-21 in ground balls.

Splain finished the day with 11 saves, while Regina Grosso (C.W. Baker/Baldwinsville, N.Y.) finished with 7 stops.

The Herons return to action on April 24, traveling to play Vassar College at 4 p.m.

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