GENEVA, N.Y.--For the fourth time in five years and the ninth time since Liberty League play began in 1995, the 12th-ranked William Smith College field hockey team completed an undefeated conference schedule when they shut out visiting Rensselaer 2-0 today on McCooey Field.

Despite outshooting the Red Hawks 11-0 and completely dominating the first half, William Smith (12-3, 7-0) failed to find the back of the net in the opening 35 minutes. In keeping the contest scoreless and weathering the storm, first-year goalie Lauren Fernandes (Orange/Orange, Ohio) recorded seven stops.

The Herons finally broke through in the 49th minute when sophomore Sarah Palmer (Friends School/Baltimore, Md.) notched her first goal of the season to give William Smith a 1-0 lead. Less than nine minutes later, junior Kelsey Landahl (Pioneer/Delevan, N.Y.) connected for her ninth tally of the year off a feed from sophomore Kaitlyn Hamilton (Harpursville/Harpursville, N.Y.), who reached the 30-point plateau for the second year in a row with the assist.

Junior goalie Katie DeKraker (Staples/Wesport, Conn.) earned her sixth shutout of the year, making five stops to ensure the win. Fernandes made an additional seven saves in the second half, giving her a game total of 14.

With the loss Rensselaer drops to 2-5 in league play and 5-10 overall.

The Herons close out their regular season with a pair of non-conference games by hosting Nazareth on Oct. 23 at 7 p.m. and traveling to Messiah on Oct. 27.