WATERS NAMED CO-OFFENSIVE PERFORMER OF THE WEEK

Apr. 14: Senior co-captain Alanna Waters was named the Liberty League’s Co-Offensive Performer of the Week after another impressive week on the field for the St. Lawrence women’s lacrosse team.

The attack (Darien, CT/Taft) continues to be a key component to the Saints' offense tallying 13 points in the last two contests. Against non-conference opponent Oswego, Waters had two goals and five assists for a game-high seven points to lead the Scarlet and Brown to a 15-13 win over the Lakers. In St. Lawrence's 19-12 loss to William Smith, she had one goal and assisted five others for a team-high six points. Waters currently leads the Saints and the Liberty League in points scored (63) and total assists (40).

St. Lawrence will travel down Route 11 to Golden Knight territory on Tuesday, where they will meet Clarkson University for a crucial Liberty League match-up, with the game scheduled to begin at 5:00pm in Potsdam, NY.

SAINTS’ RALLY FALLS SHORT IN 19-12 LOSS TO HERONS

Apr. 12: The St. Lawrence University women’s lacrosse team was able to overcome a five goal deficit with six goals early in the second half, but No. 13 William Smith rebuilt their cushion thanks to their outstanding speed, holding off the Saints and ensuring a 19-12 conference win in Geneva, NY.

The Saints fall to 8-4 overall and 2-3 in the conference with the loss, as the team heads into a crucial week with three Liberty League contests, including Clarkson, Rensselaer and Vassar, with the outcomes deciding St. Lawrence’s postseason fate.

William Smith, who is currently ranked 13th in Division III women’s lacrosse according to the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) poll, remain unbeaten with a 10-0 overall mark and an unblemished 4-0 Liberty League record.

Junior Amanda Forbes ( Glens Falls, NY/ Glens Falls) and rookie Kim Morse ( Peaks Island, ME/ Yarmouth Academy) led the Saints, both scoring four goals a piece, while Morse also grabbed an assist. Senior co-captain Alanna Waters ( Darien, CT/Taft) used her innate ability behind the net to capitalize on scoring opportunities, tallying a goal and a game-high five assists for a team-high six points.

Also scoring for St. Lawrence was sophomore Mary Jane Sweetland (Hopewell, NJ/Stuart Country Day), who had a goal and an assist, and the North Country duo of junior Brittany Misercola (Watertown, NY/Watertown) and first-year Kaitlyn Fahsel (Watertown, NY/South Jefferson), who each tallied one.

A William Smith foul sent Morse to the eight meter just 1:06 into the game, who put the ball past Heron goalie Becky Josefiak ( West Seneca, NY/West Seneca East) to get the momentum going for the visiting team, giving them a 1-0 edge. The Herons used their speed off draw control wins to drive the ball down the field, scoring four goals in just under three minutes to jump out to a 4-1 lead with 23:21 to go in the opening stanza.

The Scarlet and Brown found they were able to settle near the goal and find key breaks to slip the ball past Josefiak in the middle of the first, going on a 3-0 run to tie the game 4-4 off of Sweetland’s goal with 12:53 on the clock.

It would be another six minutes before either team scored, but William Smith’s Molly Fitzgerald (Sudbury, MA/Gould Academy) scored a goal with 6:51 remaining to spark a 5-0 Heron run down the stretch to close out the half with a 9-4 advantage over the Saints.

A flurry of goals opened up the second, with eight goals being scored in just the first 4:49 of the half. Six of those belonged to St. Lawrence, who rallied back from a five-goal deficit to come within a goal of the home team with 25:21 left in the contest. But the Herons were able to regroup defensively and fight off St. Lawrence, allowing only two goals in the last 25 minutes while scoring eight of their own to end the game with a 19-12 victory.

“I was disappointed that we lost, but not at all with how we played,” said St. Lawrence Head Coach Jodi Canfield. “We got close a number of times in the second half, but could never tie it or get ahead. We had two key possessions that shifted the momentum a bit for us but we were unable to take advantage of those opportunities.”

In many ways, the Saints proved they could not only compete with the nationally-ranked Herons, but challenge them. Both squads had 29 shots each, while St. Lawrence held an edge in ground balls (18-17) as well as draw controls (17-16). Each team caused ten turnovers, while William Smith tallied 20 turnovers in all, while St. Lawrence had 19.

Defensively, Forbes came up big for St. Lawrence, winning a game-high six draw controls, picking up three groundballs, and causing two turnovers. Senior co-captain Michaela Wipfler ( Portland, ME/Deering) also picked up three groundballs and caused the Herons to turn the ball over twice, as did first-year Kelsey Redpath ( Norwich, VT/ Hanover). Sophomore Lexi Wisnowski ( Middlebury, VT/Middlebury Union) had two groundballs and two cause turnovers.

Leading the Herons’ offense was Fitzgerald, who had five goals and two assists for a game-high seven points.

The Scarlet and Brown will travel down the road to neighboring Clarkson University on Tuesday, April 15 for a North Country duel in Golden Knight territory. The first draw is scheduled for 5:00pm.

SAINTS EDGE LAKERS 15-13 IN ROAD WIN

Apr. 11: Despite rough field conditions due to weather, the St. Lawrence University women’s lacrosse team emerged victorious Friday afternoon, defeating non-conference opponent Oswego State 15-13 on Laker Field in Oswego, NY.

The Saints improve to 8-3 overall with the win, while the Lakers fell to 4-5 in their season.

Senior co-captain Alanna Waters ( Darien, CT/Taft) led the Saints’ offense with seven points, scoring two goals and five assists. Others scoring for the Scarlet and Brown were first-year Kaitlyn Fahsel (Watertown, NY/South Jefferson) who had four goals, first-year Kelsey Redpath (Norwich, VT/Hanover) and classmate Kim Morse (Peaks Island, ME/Yarmouth Academy), who each had three goals, sophomore Mary Jane Sweetland (Hopewell, NJ/Stuart Country Day) with two goals and an assist, and sophomore Lexi Wisnowski (Middlebury, VT/Middlebury Union) tallying one of each.

A high scoring first half saw the Lakers open up the contest with two goals early on to get out to an early 2-0 edge, but the Saints stormed back with a 4-0 run including two goals from Sweetland, while Waters and Wisnowski each tallied one to give the Saints a 4-2 lead with 21:23 left on the clock in the first.

The Scarlet and Brown led throughout the remainder of the half, increasing their lead to as many as five with just 3:45 remaining in the half before Oswego scored three goals in the final three minutes while the visiting team was able to score one more to close out the period with an 11-8 advantage.

The second half saw a reversal of the opening minutes of the first, with St. Lawrence’s Fahsel and Morse each scoring a goal to give the Saints a comfortable five point lead, but the Lakers readjusted their offense and was able to score four unanswered goals to get within one (13-12) with just over 13 minutes remaining in the game.

Redpath tallied the game winner and Waters added the insurance goal in the final nine minutes of the contest as the Saints were able to maintain possession throughout much of the remainder of the half to give the 15-13 win to St. Lawrence.

“We adjusted as well as we could to the field conditions we were faced with today,” said Saints’ Head Coach Jodi Canfield. I was happy with the way our kids fought through the tough conditions and held their composure throughout the game. I knew Oswego would have a lot of fire power based on their previous scores and that’s always a concern when the field conditions can impact the game so tremendously.”

In the closely contested match-up, draws became an essential part of St. Lawrence’s victory, with Redpath coming up big defensively, winning eight of the Saints’ 17 draw controls. The Saints held a 35-23 shot advantage and completed an impressive 15-of-18 clears while picking up 17 groundballs, compared to Oswego’s 11.

St. Lawrence will travel to Geneva, NY on Saturday to face William Smith in Liberty League action. The first draw is scheduled for 2:00pm.