Men's and women's lacrosse were played under virtually the same rules, with no protective equipment, until the mid-1930s. At that time, men's lacrosse began evolving dramatically, while women's lacrosse continued to remain true to the game's original rules. Men's and women's lacrosse remain derivations of the same game today, but are played under different rules. Women's rules limit stick contact, prohibit body contact and, therefore, require little protective equipment. Men's lacrosse rules allow some degree of stick and body contact, although violence is neither condoned nor allowed.
Lacrosse at William Smith College predates the landmark passage of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. One of the earliest references to the sport is in the minutes of the Athletic Association from 1961-62, when William Smith rented lacrosse sticks for the first time, part of a $313 budget for the school's athletics and recreation.
In 1966, the sport was granted varsity status at William Smith.
The first step the "Smithies," as William Smith teams were known prior to 1981, took toward national prominence came prior to the start of the 1971-72 academic year. Department Chair Mary Hosking hired Pat Price to serve as head coach of basketball, field hockey and lacrosse.
Price, who later married Carmen Genovese '70, never intended to coach for long, desiring a career in the medical field. Nearly 40 years later, Pat Genovese's name is synonymous with excellence in collegiate lacrosse. She has led William Smith to a record of 362-133-1 (.731), boasting more wins than any other collegiate lacrosse coach in the nation - men's and women's. On Nov. 7, 2009, the three-time National Coach of the Year will be enshrined in the U.S. Lacrosse National Hall of Fame.
The early years of William Smith lacrosse were akin to today's club sports. With few opponents, teams played few if any games - the Smithies played Cornell twice constituting the entire schedule during Genovese's first season. The 1974 and '75 seasons were wiped out by a lack of opponents, but William Smith bounced back with its first winning season in 1976, albeit just 2-1, but a winning campaign nonetheless.
Following a campus-wide contest in 1981, William Smith adopted the nickname "Herons" for its varsity teams. The first Heron squad to produce a winning lacrosse season against a "full" slate was the 1982 team's 7-5 mark. William Smith would not suffer another losing season for 23 years.
The NCAA threw its weight behind the sport, adding a Division III Women's Championship Tournament 1985. William Smith finished that season with a 9-6 record and won the ECAC Regional Championship. Deanna Cramer '86 earned a spot on the Brine All-Region team, a first for a Heron. A year later, Anne Jachney '88 became the program's first USWLA All-American.
Following a 10-3 season in 1986, the Herons earned their first NCAA Tournament bid in 1987. That squad posted a 10-4 record, advancing to the NCAA Semifinals. William Smith produced a program record 15 wins in 1988 and reached the national championship game for the first time. The Herons returned to the national semifinals in 1989, but missed a spot in the tournament in 1990.
The absence was very temporary. William Smith made 14 consecutive postseason appearances between 1991 and 2004, winning at least 11 games in each of those seasons, while suffering no more than three losses in any one campaign.
The Herons were most dominant between 1992 and 1995. Led by Amy Hoover '95 and Jennifer Bertsch '95, William Smith made four consecutive appearances in the NCAA Championship game and compiled a four-year record of 62-5 (.925). Hoover left campus as the school's all-time leader in goals (208), assists (175), and points (383), while Bertsch ranked second in points (171-76-247).
The Herons joined a conference for the first time prior to the start of the 2001 campaign. The team was the runner-up in the Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association (UCAA) and the ECAC Mid-Atlantic Tournament Champions.
William Smith won back-to-back Liberty League regular season and tournament championships in 2003 and 2004 and collected a third regular season crown in 2006.
The program's success on the field hasn't gone unnoticed. Seven Herons have been named National Player of the Year, while 94 have earned All-America honors.
