No. 23 women’s lacrosse (11-7, 5-5 NESCAC) secured consecutive victories during the first two rounds of the Div. III NCAA Championship, which was hosted by William Smith in Geneva, N.Y., over the weekend. With an 18-3 win against the Grove City Wolverines (16-4), and an 11-10 victory over the No. 7 William Smith Herons (17-3), the Ephs will advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2014.
The Ephs took an early lead against the Wolverines on Saturday, with co-captain Katy McCullough ’26 netting a goal less than a minute into the game, followed by Reece Willison ’27 just under 90 seconds later. Entering the second quarter with a 5-0 lead, the Ephs maintained their momentum, taking an 11-1 advantage into halftime as eight different players got into the scoring column.
The Ephs continued to dominate the game through its conclusion, holding the Wolverines to just three goals in an 18-3 win.
Ella Ryan ’29 scored a hat trick during the victory, contributing her second and third goals in the third and fourth quarters, respectively. Ryan credited her performance — the second hat trick of her career — to the team’s strong leadership and her own persistent effort. “It’s very rewarding because sometimes it can be hard to find the back of a net, so finally pushing through that felt really good,” she said. “Coming in as a freshman, it’s been awesome to be mentored by all of the upperclassmen on this team.”
After their first-round win, the Ephs geared up again on Sunday for an intense matchup against the higher-ranked Herons. According to McCullough, the Ephs recognized that defeating the Herons would be difficult, but were ready to rise to the occasion.
The first quarter of the game was a battle, with both teams fighting hard to establish an advantage, but the Ephs ultimately surged ahead to a 4-3 lead. The lead briefly changed hands to begin the second quarter, but back-to-back goals from McCullough and another from McKenna Dwyer ’28 gave the Ephs a 7-5 halftime lead.
McCullough found the net again during the opening minutes of the third quarter, completing a hat trick off an assist from co-captain Franny Donohue ’26, which was her third assist of the game, the most out of anyone that day.
Early in the third quarter, the Ephs managed to build a four-goal lead, but the Herons inched closer, whittling that lead down to one goal as the period ended 9-8. Anna Miller ’26 extended the Ephs’ lead to 10-8 early in the fourth quarter before the Herons responded to cut the gap to 10-9. With less than four minutes on the clock, Sydney Puntus ’27 scored, giving the Ephs an 11-9 lead. The team held on to achieve an 11-10 win. “Everyone was operating as a unit, and then our defense came up with the massive cause[d] turnovers,” McCullough said. “Everyone really stepped up to the challenge all over the field.”
Donohue praised goalie Charlotte Cote ’28 for her strong play, as Cote recorded seven crucial saves against the Herons on Sunday. “Our goalie, Charlotte, had some incredible saves, which kept our momentum going,” she said.
As co-captains, both Donohue and McCullough noticed that their leadership positions had changed the way they approached being on the team. “Now I know going into every game that I’m responsible for my teammates, and how I play is not an individual effort,” Donohue said. “My goal is to bring them forward and inspire everyone.”
McCullough said that as a leader, she still draws on her teammates’ energy. “Everyone plays a very important role,” she said. “I look to my left and my right, knowing that they have my back and knowing that they’ll step up. I think that that’s been a really special thing to have this year.”
The Ephs will now head to Medford, Mass., next Saturday to face the No. 11 Colorado College Tigers (16-3) in the third round of the NCAAs.
