Box Score The William Smith College field hockey team suffered just its second loss of the season, falling 3-2 at Ursinus College this afternoon. The Herons found themselves in a 3-0 hole less than 19 minutes into the match and came up a goal short in its second half rally.
Samantha Macchio, Rachel Pandl, and Megan Keenan scored in succession between the fourth and 19th minute to give the home team a commanding lead. After Keenan's penalty corner strike from the top of the circle, William Smith called a timeout. The Herons used the break to switch goalies—starter
Taryn Little made two saves—and to regroup. Four minutes later, junior
Taylor Cappello nearly got the visitors on the board, but Alex Shafi cleared the shot off the goal line for a defensive save.
The Bears led 3-0 at halftime.
William Smith's offense came alive following the intermission. The Herons enjoyed a 9-4 advantage in shots in the final 35 minutes (18-14 for the entire match). In the 42nd minute, senior
Annie Kietzman worked her way into a scoring position just to the right of goalie Danielle DiSpirito and fired in her 13th goal of the season. The two points moved her into a tie for seventh on the Herons career list, matching Kaitlyn Hamilton's 114 career points.
Eight minutes later, junior
Julia Simmons finished a scramble in front of the Bears' cage to make it a one-goal game, but William Smith couldn't find the equalizer before time ran out. Despite getting four penalty corners in the final 20 minutes, the Herons put only one shot on goal, and DiSpirito turned away
Margaret McConnell's offering with 2:31 remaining to cap a seven-save performance.
William Smith sophomore goalie
Catherine Hare made one save in 51:29 of relief work.
The Herons' 10-match winning streak was the program's longest since winning 11 in a row during the 2006 season.
Ursinus improved to 7-5 overall, including a 5-0 mark at home, while William Smith slips to 11-2.
The Herons return to Liberty League play on Friday, Oct. 19, when they visit Rensselaer. The match is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m.
