UTICA, N.Y.- The William Smith College ice hockey team was shutout by Utica 4-0 at the Utica Memorial Auditorium this afternoon. The loss drops the Herons to 2-4-0 on the season.
 
The Pioneers (2-2-0, 2-2-0) opened the scoring at 8:13 of the first period when Veronique Lortie scored her first goal of the game. She collected a rebound in front of Devon Strachan and wristed a shot into the back of the net. Meghan Power and Gabrielle Schnepp were credited with assists on the goal. The goal was her first of the season. Sophomore Tess Madarasz had a chance to tie the game at one all late in the period but she was stopped by Keira Goin.
 
Utica doubled its lead at the 5:56 mark of the second period when Olivia Hirschy scored her first collegiate goal. Hirschy fired a shot wide of the William Smith goal. The puck bounced off the end board and trickled right back to Hirschy who poked it across the goal line. Emily Coope and Jane Pagano were credited with assists on the goal. Lorte's second goal of the game gave the Pioneers a 3-0 lead. With the teams playing four-on-four, Lorte fired a shot from the left point that cleanly beat Strachan blocker side. Kayla Dion and Lauren Patterson picked up the assists on the goal.
 
Pagano scored a goal of her own at 16:08 remaining in the third period. Pagano forced a turnover in the neutral zone, deked around a pair of Heron defenders and slid a shot through Strachan's legs. Elizabeth Dohner was credited with an assist on the goal.
 
William Smith had scoring opportunities in the third period but could not convert. Halfway through the third period, sophomore Lindsay Brown carried the puck into the slot and wristed a shot on goal, but Goin was there to turn the shot aside. Maura Mulligan and Brown both had opportunities on the power play but they could not solve Goin. Jordan Roetzer had a scoring opportunity in the final minute but once again the Utica goalie was there to stop the shot, extending her right pad at the last second.
 
Strachan made 29 stops in her collegiate debut for William Smith. At the opposite end of the rink, Goin made 26 saves as she posted her second straight shutout.
 
Both team's came away empty on the power play. The Herons were 0-for-6 with the extra skater, while Utica was 0-for-5.
 
William Smith will return to action next weekend, Nov. 18-19, when it faces Chatham in a pair of ECAC West contests. Faceoff on Friday is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.