THE BASICS:
 
- Score: No. 9 William Smith College 12, No. 19 MIT 9
 
- Records: MIT (17-5); William Smith (18-3)
 
- Location: Geneva, N.Y. (Boswell Field at David Urick Stadium)
 
- The Lead: No. 19 MIT built an early lead, but No. 9 William Smith College battled back and held on for a 12-9 victory in the second round of the NCAA Division III Women's Lacrosse Championship Tournament on Sunday afternoon. Senior Ellie Rabenold (Cincinnati, Ohio) generated four goals and one assist for the Engineers.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
 
- MIT opened the scoring when Rabenold redirected a feed from sophomore Nina Petulla (Natick, Mass.) for a player advantage goal at the 8:54 mark. William Smith evened the game just over a minute later before a defensive battle ensued. Sophomore Gwen Flusche (Ridgewood, N.J.) ended the stalemate when she connected on a pass from sophomore Ashley Thomas (Summit, N.J.) with 2:45 on the clock. The Engineers increased their advantage to 3-1 courtesy of a free-position shot by Thomas with 41 seconds left.
 
- Rabenold found the back of the net at the 8:48 mark of the second quarter, however, the Herons rattled off four straight goals to take a 5-4 edge at halftime.
 
- Junior Julianne Flusche (Ridgewood, N.J.) tied the game two minutes into the third quarter, however, William Smith netted a pair of goals 18 seconds apart to take a 7-5 lead. Rabenold quickly cut MIT's deficit in half, but the Herons produced back-to-back goals, moving the score to 9-6 with 4:53 left in the frame. Rabenold buried a free-position shot with just over a minute left, however, William Smith responded with a player-advantage goal to maintain its small cushion.
 
- The Herons continued to pull away as they added goals at the 12:16 and 6:47 marks of the fourth quarter to go up 12-7. Despite the deficit the Engineers continued to attack as Gwen Flusche buried a player-advantage goal with 3:02 remaining and senior Meredith Arterburn (Cooksville, Md.) recorded a free-position goal with two seconds to go.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
 
- Gwen Flusche posted two goals and two groundballs as senior Katie Bell (Radnor, Pa.) tallied five groundballs, two draw controls, and two caused turnovers. First-year Alexa Cohen (Media, Pa.) generated three groundballs and three caused turnovers while first-year Pauline Vien (Brookline, Mass.) compiled 10 saves, two groundballs, and one caused turnover.
 
- This was the second meeting between both programs and the first since 1998, which was a victory by William Smith.
 
- This was the second year in a row and the third time in three trips to the NCAA Tournament that the Engineers have advanced to the second round.
 
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