Collegeville, Pa.- The William Smith College field hockey team was edged by Ursinus 3-1 in a top-10 showdown on Eleanor Frost Snell Alumnae Field this afternoon. The Herons are the sixth-ranked team in the NFHCA preseason poll while the Bears started the season ranked fourth in the nation.
 
Ursinus jumped out in front in the 12th minute converting on their fourth penalty corner of the game.  Brooke Overly blasted a shot from the left side of the circle that beat Biz Chirco, the William Smith goalie. Ann Kopera was credited with an assist on the goal.
 
Senior Alessandra Patrizio leveled the game at one when she notched her team-leading third goal of the season. Patrizio collected a loose ball in front of the cage and fired a shot past Jules Singer, the Bears goalie. Patrizio is now five points away from becoming the 16th player in school history to reach the 100-point plateau.
 
Ursinus nudged its way in front in the 20th minute. Amber Steigerwalt deked around a defender and jammed a shot past Chirco. Bridget Sherry recorded the assist on the play after picking her way into the right side of the circle and sending the centering pass to Steigerwalt.
 
The Bears dominated the first half earning eight penalty corners to one for the Herons while holding an 8-2 edge in the shot column.
 
In the 56th minute, Aliki Torrence converted on Ursinus' ninth and final penalty corner to put the Bears up 3-1. Kopera collected her second assist inserting the penalty corner to Torrence who was waiting to blast the shot from the top of the circle.
 
William Smith did not go quietly however. They recorded three golden scoring opportunities in the final five minutes of the game but were not able to put the ball behind Singer. Patrizio fired a shot wide and then had another one stopped by Singer. Junior Katie Meyer also had a shot stopped by Singer in the final 76 seconds of the contest.
 
Chirco played all 70 minutes in the William Smith goal and stopped five shots. On the other end of the field, Singer made three stops in the winning effort.
 
Ursinus finished the game with a 12-7 edge in shots and a 9-1 advantage in penalty corners.
 
The Herons will look to get back in the win column on Wednesday night when they travel to Geneseo, N.Y., for a non-conference contest.  The game against the Knights is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.