GENEVA, N.Y. – The seventh-ranked William Smith College field hockey team entered tonight's contest with an excellent chance of clinching a spot in the four-team Liberty League tournament, and the Herons clinched their spot before the final whistle blew. The Herons defeated St. Lawrence 2-1 on McCooey field this evening and moved into the driver's seat in the conference as a result of losses from Skidmore and Vassar earlier in the day.

Junior Alessandra Patrizio notched her 20th goal of the season in the second minute. Sophomore Ali Frary fired a leading pass into the circle. Patrizio got her stick on the centering pass and redirected it past the Saint's goalie. Frary was credited with an assist on the play.

A little over a minute later, Hannah Wood pocketed her 23rd goal of the season to put William Smith (14-1, 4-1) up 2-0. She collected a ball at the top of the 16-yard arc, dribbled around the St. Lawrence goalie, and fired a shot into the back of the cage. The goal was the 100th point of her career, making her the 15th Heron to reach 100-point plateau.  Wood's 23 goals this season are a career-high and the third most by a Heron in a single-season.

St. Lawrence (4-9, 1-4) had its own offensive chances in the first half. In the 18th minute, Jamie Oriol was awarded a penalty stroke but fired the shot just past the left post. In the 28th minute, Maggie Wraight scored for the Saints to cut into the two goal deficit. Wraight got her stick on a bouncing ball and redirected a shot past the William Smith goalie.

Junior Biz Chirco got the start in the cage for the Herons and turned aside six shots, including five in the first half. St. Lawrence goalie, Kim Haab, stopped a season-high 23 shots for the Saints and kept William Smith off of the board completely in the second half.

William Smith dominated the stat sheet, outshooting St. Lawrence 38-11 and earning 10 penalty corners to the Saints five.

With the win, the Herons now sit atop the Liberty League standings and can clinch the regular season title with a victory at Skidmore on Sunday, Oct. 25. William Smith clinched a berth in the tournament in the second half of today's game when Union defeated Vassar 2-1.