Box Score GENEVA, N.Y.—The ninth-ranked Messiah College field hockey team scored an early goal in each half to defeat No. 11 William Smith College 2-0 on McCooey Field today. The Falcons improve to 15-3 overall and the Herons slip to 14-3.
 
Just 2:22 into the match, Kelly Martin deflected a shot by Caroline Wulf past sophomore goalie Catherine Hare for a 1-0 lead. Both teams produced six first half shots, but Martin's tally stood alone.
 
In the second half, Messiah needed just 5:44 to add to its lead. This time Brooke Sands ripped a shot from the top of the circle. Juliana Hershey assisted on the penalty corner goal.
 
William Smith was unable to solve Falcon goalie Molly Gebrosky, who made three saves in the shutout. Hare also recorded three stops.
 
Messiah has a slim 10-9 edge in shots and a 6-4 advantage in penalty corners.
 
The Herons will be back in action on Wednesday, Oct. 31, when they host Rensselaer in a Liberty League Tournament semifinal. William Smith is the tournament's top seed and the Engineers are the No. 4 seed. The contest is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m.
 
The Herons won the regular season meeting against RPI in Troy by a 4-2 count.
 
No. 2 Rochester will host No. 3 Skidmore in the other semifinal. The winners will meet at the highest remaining seed on Saturday, Nov. 3 for the conference championship.