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Splain reins in Thoroughbreds, lifts Herons to 14-2 win
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Becca Splain made a career-high 17 |
April 9, 2004
GENEVA, N.Y.—William Smith College senior goaltender Becca Splain
(Middlebury Union/Middlebury, Vt.) made a career-high 17 saves to lead
the Herons to a 14-2 win over undefeated UCAA foe Skidmore College in
women’s lacrosse this afternoon on McCooey Field. William Smith senior
Gretchen Lasda (West Genesee/Camillus, N.Y.) led all scorers with five
goals and two assists for seven points, her sixth consecutive game with
at least five points.
It took nearly six minutes for either team to get on the board as senior Brighde Dougherty (Manasquan/Sea Girt, N.J.) fired home a Nikki Traino (West Genesee/Syracuse, N.Y.) pass for her 18th goal of the season and a 1-0 Heron lead. Less than two minutes later Lasda tallied her first score on a free position shot, making it a 2-0 game at the 7:08 mark.
Trailing 4-0, Skidmore (8-1, 4-1 UCAA) first-year Shardae Gonsalves (New Bedford/New Bedford, Mass.) capitalized on a William Smith turnover to cut the lead to three, nut the Herons answered with goals from Lasda and junior Kate Bickford (Lincoln School/Providence, R.I.) for the 6-1 advantage at the break.
Bickford finished the afternoon with a career-high four goals for the Herons.
Looking to cushion its lead, ninth-ranked William Smith (8-1, 2-1 UCAA) came out of the halftime huddle on fire, as Lasda notched a pair of unassisted goals in the opening 3:30 for an 8-1 lead.
First-year Katie Weber (Princeton Day School/Princeton, N.J.) tried to ignite a run for the Thoroughbreds at the 4:09 mark with her 21st goal of the year, but Splain stopped everything they threw in her direction. Splain also picked up eight ground balls for the afternoon.
William Smith closed out the match with a six-goal run, getting two more from Bickford. The Herons outshot 16th-ranked Skidmore 28-24 and picked up 27 ground balls to the Thoroughbreds’ 25.
Sophomore backstop Sarah Berheide (Saratoga Springs/Saratoga Springs, N.Y.) had nine saves in her first loss of the season.
The Herons return to McCooey Field on April 10, hosting UCAA rival Union College at 2 p.m.