Box
GENEVA, N.Y. -- Freshman Haley DeVona scored four goals, including the game-winner with :20 left in overtime Saturday as visiting Nazareth rallied for a 12-11 victory over William Smith in a non-conference women's lacrosse game at Boswell Field.

The game, originally scheduled to be played at Nazareth, was moved to William Smith due to icy field conditions at Nazareth. The game was the season opener for the Golden Flyers, who trailed 7-2 in the first half and 7-3 at halftime. William Smith dropped to 0-2 with its second straight one-goal defeat.

"We were very confident that we could come back in the second half," said Nazareth Coach Traci Lian. "We just needed to compose ourselves and take care of the little things like ground balls and draw controls."

The teams were tied 10-10 heading into the six-minute overtime period after William Smith's Hannah Connolly scored the final two goals of regulation, including the tying score with :41 left. The Herons then scored the first goal of overtime, with 2:42 left, as Alexandra Bird scored unassisted for her second goal of the game. Junior Carly Gates tied the game again with her third goal with 1:37 left. DeVona, playing in her first collegiate game, then delivered the game winner with just :20 left. The Herons won the ensuing draw control but couldn't generate another shot.

Nazareth led 2-1 early in the game following goals by Gates and DeVona. William Smith then rattled off six straight goals to take a seemingly safe 7-2 lead with less than 10 minutes to play in the half. Sophomore Jamie Martin scored off an assist from Gates with :57 left in the half to close the gap to 7-3 by halftime.

The Golden Flyers completed their comeback in the first 10 minutes of the second half as they scored four straight goals. First DeVona scored off an assist from sophomore Leah Marvin, then senior Brooke Sullivan and sophomore Kate Rothrock followed with unassisted scores. Gates then tied it at 7-7 off an assist from Sullivan with 20:14 to go.

A goal by William Smith's Molly Neureuter interrupted the flurry, before Nazareth scored the next three goals -- Sullivan, DeVona and Martin -- to go up 10-8. Connolly then delivered her two goals for the Herons to force overtime.

William Smith had slim advantages in shots (27-25) and ground balls (19-18). Senior defender MacKenzie Haley had four of Nazareth's ground balls and senior Ashley Kirch made eight saves in her first career start in goal.

Nazareth travels to Florida next week to play non-conference games Tuesday (against Westfield State at 8 p.m.) and Thursday (against Ursinus at 12 p.m.). Also, Nazareth's game against Brockport that was postponed last Wednesday has been rescheduled for March 20 at 4 p.m.