With a 6-4 Liberty League victory over traditional power William Smith on Friday in Geneva, NY, the Clarkson University Women's Lacrosse team put an exclamation point on the best start in the program's 38-year history.

Winners of nine straight, the Golden Knights improve to 9-1 overall and 3-0 in the conference. Clarkson will face another stiff challenge on Saturday afternoon with a 3:00 p.m. game at defending Liberty League Champion Union College in Schenectady, NY.

Juniors Ashley Flick and Kate Dillon scored two goals apiece and senior Christine Wright recorded four assists, while freshman Samantha Gladd posted 11 saves to pace the Knights to their first win ever over William Smith.

The Herons (3-6, 2-1) opened the scoring with the game's first goal nine minutes in, but the Green and Gold connected for the next five tallies to hold a 5-1 lead after the first half. Senior Emma Jeffery started the Clarkson surge with her third goal of the season at 16:42. Dillon, the regaining Liberty League Offensive Performer of the Week, and Flick scored two goals each in the final 12 minutes of the half. Flick's team-high 33rd goal of the season, which came 84 seconds before the break, proved to be the game-winner.

William Smith came out strong to start the second half and tallied twice in the opening four minutes of the period to cut the Knights' lead to 5-3.

Gladd and the Clarkson defense kept the Herons off the scoreboard the rest of the away until the final minutes when the home team made it a one-goal game on Ali Burns' score with 3:58 remaining.

Senior Stephanie Lynch, however, gave the Green and Gold a two-goal advantage, finishing off a pass from Wright with 2:44 left. That assist puts Wright two points away from becoming Clarkson's all-time points leader. Through 128 career games, Wright has 261 points, one shy of Alyssa Cristaldi's '13 school-record of 262.

Gladd made one last save with two minutes to play and Clarkson controlled the ball to run out the clock to earn its first victory over William Smith in 16 games.

The Herons outshot the Knights 18-17, but Clarkson held the edge in ground balls 14-13. Wright led the way with a team-high four ground balls.