ROCHESTER, N.Y.-The William Smith College field hockey team fell to 15th-ranked Rochester 4-0 in a Liberty League semifinal match at Fauver Stadium this evening. The Yellowjackets scored three second half goals to pull away from the Herons.
 
Rochester (16-3) was led by Maya Haigis who registered a pair of goals. Colleen Maillie and Olivia Denny added a pair of assists for the Yellowjackets.
 
William Smith (12-6) had the game's first scoring opportunity in the 22nd minute. Junior Fallon Adair fired a shot on goal from point blank range but Kiran Sundaram made a kick save. A foul on the play led to the Herons earning the game's first penalty corner. Senior Hannah Wood blasted Adair's corner insertion wide.
 
Courtney Dunham scored the lone goal of the first half in the 27th minute. Off of Rochester's first penalty corner of the game, her shot from the right wing trickled through Emily King's pads and across the goal line. Less than two minutes later, the Yellowjackets drew another penalty corner. Olivia Denny's shot was swiped off of the line by William Smith junior Samantha Petruzzo, who was credited with her second defensive save of the season.
 
The game was tightly contested in the midfield in the opening 35 minutes. Rochester had a slight 4-2 edge in shots and penalty corners.
 
The Yellowjackets doubled their lead in the 52nd minute when Jessica Brandon scored her third goal of the season. She flicked in a one-timer on a crossing pass from Maillie. Rochester broke the game open four minutes later when Hagis pocketed her first goal of the contest. She fired home a shot from the top of the arc. Maillie was credited with the assist on the goal. Haigis struck again in the 65th minute. Her blast from the top of the arc was assisted by Denny, the penalty corner inserter.
 
Following Bradon's goal, William Smith had an excellent scoring opportunity. Wood left a drop pass for Sierramarie Fitzgerald eight-yards out. Fitzgerald's opportunity was turned aside by Sundaram. In the closing minutes, Maura Moran had a pair of shots kicked aside by Sundaram and Shayla Meehan fired a shot just wide.
 
Senior Emily King made four saves in 70 minutes in the William Smith goal. At the opposite end of the field, Sundaram stopped all four shots she faced.
 
Rochester finished the game with a 15-6 edge in shots and drew 11 penalty corners to the Herons' four.
 
With the win, Rochester advances to Saturday's championship game. The Yellowjackets will host Skidmore, who edged Vassar in this afternoon's other semifinal.
 
William Smith's five seniors, Katie Battaglia, Alexandra Frary, Emily King, Maura Moran, and Hannah Wood have helped the Herons to a 53-23 overall record, a 17-8 record in the Liberty League, two Liberty League regular season titles, one Liberty League tournament championship and one NCAA tournament bid.