GENEVA, N.Y. – The nationally-ranked St. John Fisher College women's lacrosse team was unable to keep pace with No. 8 William Smith College on Wednesday as the Cardinals fell to the Herons, 16-9, in a non-conference pairing at Stiles Field.  With the loss, Fisher, which is ranked 25th in the latest Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association poll, dipped to 1-5 while the Herons improved to 7-1 at the close of competition.

After falling behind by five goals following the opening 30 minutes of play, the Cardinals saw the lead grow to as many as seven before a goal by Bianca Giacona sparked a 3-0 run that Fisher that included scores from Mary Fiorentino and Farrah Zalla to cut the gap down to four with 3:43 remaining in the third quarter.

Trailing 10-6 with momentum on its side, Fisher exchanged goals with William Smith over the next two minutes before a free position goal by the Herons with 20 seconds showing on the clock made it 12-7 heading into the final 15 minutes of play.

Facing a five-goal deficit, Fisher grabbed the opening draw as Sydney Carpenter fired a shot on goal, but the home team continued to push the pace and scored back-to-back goals in a span of 90 seconds to extend the lead to seven with under 10 minutes left in the game. 

As the game wore on, the tides would shift again with the Cardinals finding the back of the net twice on marks from Giacona and Zalla, but William Smith would regain control over the final minute with two goals of its own to come out on top, 16-9.

Fiorentino led Fisher with a career-high three goals in the loss while Courtney O'Dea added a goal and two assists.  Zalla scored twice and dished out one assist while Carpenter had five draw controls, a caused turnover and two points in all.

Lilly Goodsell played al 60 minutes in goal and made eight saves.

The Cardinals will embark on their Empire 8 schedule beginning at 1 p.m. on Saturday when they host Utica College inside Growney Stadium.