SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – First-year
Fallon Adair scored twice in the final 25 minutes to lead seventh-ranked William Smith to a 2-1 Liberty League win over eighth-ranked Skidmore at Wagner Park this afternoon. The win secures the Herons' 12th Liberty League regular season title and home field advantage in the conference tournament.
Skidmore (11-5, 4-2) got on the board in the 18th minute when Seeley Fancher scored off of a penalty corner. Krista Lamoreux fired a shot from the right side of the arc that Fancher tipped past William Smith goalie,
Biz Chirco. The goal came after a flurry in front of the cage following two Thoroughbred penalty corners.
After a timeout by Head Coach
Sally Scatton, William Smith (15-1, 5-1) applied some pressure in the offensive end. Sophomore
Alexandra Frary blasted a shot that beat the Skidmore goalie but was taken off of the goal line by Thoroughbred defender Jenn Hanks. First half scoring chances were at a premium as the teams managed a combined 11 shots.
The Herons turned the momentum in their favor after a pair of saves from Chirco ten minutes into the second half. The Herons tied the game in the 47th minute when
Hannah Wood made a spin move to get a shot off inside the circle. Adair redirected the shot into the cage for her second goal of the season.
Skidmore applied some offensive pressure in the middle portion of the half, but were unable to solve Chirco. She made three key stops during the sequence. In the 57th minute, Senior
Madison Finn kept the game tied at one with her eighth defensive save of the season.
In the 66th, minute Adair had a scoring opportunity just trickle past the post. Thirty seconds later, Adair's second goal of the game and third of her career proved to be the game winner. She redirected a
Maura Moran shot across the goal line to give William Smith a 2-1 lead.
Chirco got the start in goal for the Herons and recorded seven saves. Zoe McGuire played 67:27 in net for Skidmore and turned aside four shots. The Thoroughbreds pulled their goalie in favor of an extra attacker for the final 2:33.
Skidmore owned a 12-9 advantage in shots and earned an 8-4 edge in penalty corners.
William Smith will host the No. 4 seed Vassar on Wednesday, Nov. 4, in the conference semifinals, while the Thoroughbreds will travel to No. 2 Rochester in the other semifinal. Game times will be announced later in the week.
The Herons will complete their regular season slate on Saturday, Oct. 31, when they travel to Messiah for a non-conference game.
