The Clarkson University Women's Lacrosse team stayed close with perennial conference powerhouse William Smith on Saturday afternoon, but the Herons were able to pull away for a 12-7 Liberty League victory at home on Boswell Field in Geneva, NY.

Freshman standout Paige Fayette (Theresa, NY) led Clarkson with two goals and an assist. Junior Emma Oliver (Jericho, VT) and freshman Ashley Flick (Watertown, NY) and each produced two goals. Sophomore Hanna Gleason (Massena, NY) and sophomore Meaghan McKenna (Hamburg, NY) each won three draws for the Golden Knights. Senior Kara DiNatale (Auburn, NH) played the opening 30 minutes in goal and made five saves. She led the team with four ground balls. Sophomore Dani Tani (Heuvelton, NY) came in for the final 30 minutes and finished with two saves.

Geneva Calder, Kate Byrne and Alexandra Bird each produced three goals in the victory for William Smith.

The Golden Knights fall to 3-5 overall and 0-2 in conference play, while the Herons improved to 2-5 overall and 2-0 in the Liberty League.

William Smith took a 2-0 lead 6:13 into the game off goals by Bird and Byrne. Just over three minutes later, Flick scored Clarkson's first goal of the game. Byrne struck again with 14:24 on the clock. Flick answered for the Golden Knights with 11:12 left in first to make it 3-2. Calder took advantage of a free position and Emy Stratton followed with an unassisted tally to give the Herons a 5-2 advantage 7:16 before the break. With 4:27 on the clock, junior Danielle Faivus (Oswego, NY) scored a woman-down goal for Clarkson to make the score 5-3 at halftime.

Calder found the back of the net for the second time off a feed from Hughes just 29 seconds into the second half and Byrne added an unassisted tally to stretch the William Smith lead to four. Clarkson put together a 3-0 run to get within one at 7-6. Oliver scored twice in the run and Fayette notched a goal and an assist. However, the Herons answered with a three-goal run of their own to make it 10-6 with 3:40 left in the game. With three minutes remaining, Fayette struck again for Clarkson, but Bird and Hannah Connolly scored in the last two minutes for the final.

William Smith held a 25-13 lead in shots and a 23-17 edge in ground balls. Clarkson finished with an 11-9 advantage in draws. The Herons were successful on 11-of-15 clear attempts, while the Golden Knights went 8-for-24.

Clarkson opens a seven-game home stand at Hantz Turf Field on Friday, April 4 when the Knights hosts the University of Rochester at 4:00 p.m.