TROY, N.Y.-Juniors Hannah Wood and Maura Moran accounted for all 13 of William Smith's points as the 11th-ranked Herons opened Liberty League play this afternoon with a 5-1 win over Rensselaer on Harkness Field. Wood notched her sixth career hat trick and added an assist to finish the game with seven point while Moran recorded a career-high six points (2g, 2a) in the victory.
 
The Engineers (4-3, 0-1) had the games' first major scoring opportunity in the fourth minute, drawing the game's first penalty corner. Senior Austen Gillen-Keeney came flying off the goal line to block a Taylor Clink shot from the top of the 16-yard arc. Clink collected the loose ball and fired a shot wide. Ninety seconds later, senior Biz Chirco kicked aside a Mikaela DiBello shot from point blank range.
 
William Smith (6-2, 1-0) opened the scoring in the eighth minute when Wood tallied her first goal of the game. Moran inserted the corner to Wood, who fired a laser past the Rensselaer goalie, Rachel Kaufman. Six minutes later, the Herons doubled their lead when Moran converted a penalty stroke for her first goal of the game.
 
The Engineers cracked the scoreboard when Kate Batzinger converted on a penalty stroke of her own. RPI entered the half with an 11-5 edge in shots and 5-1 lead in penalty corners.
 
Wood and Moran connected again off a penalty corner in the 44th minute. Just under four minutes later, Moran made it 4-1 William Smith when she deflected a Wood shot into the back of the net. The goal was Moran's sixth of the season, matching a career-high from a season ago. With 19 points, Moran is now tied for second on the team. 
 
Wood completed her hat trick in the 58th minute. She fired a shot that was turned aside by Kaufman, collected her own rebound, and chipped a shot into the back of the cage. Wood leads the team with 12 goals this season and now has 63 for her career. With seven points she moves into sole possession of third place on the school's all-time points list with 141.
 
In the final ten minutes of the game, the Engineers applied pressure in the offensive end earning five straight penalty corners.  RPI, however could not crack Chirco who made three stops in the game's closing minutes.
 
Chirco played all 70 minutes in the William Smith goal, making seven stops as she improves to 6-2 on the year. At the other end of the field, Kaufman stopped four shots in the losing effort.
 
RPI ended the game with a 17-13 edge in shots and held a 12-7 edge in penalty corners.
 
William Smith will be back in action on Wednesday, Sept. 28, when it travels to Cortland for a non-conference game. The Herons will be back on McCooey Field on Saturday, when they host Liberty League foe Vassar.