GENEVA, N.Y.—William Smith College sophomore goalkeeper
Alexandra DeVito made a career-high 21 saves against second-ranked Messiah College this afternoon. The Falcons, who capped an undefeated regular season, scored the game winner early in the second half and added a pair of insurance goals in the final five minutes to earn their 17th straight win 3-0.
Messiah (17-0) controlled play in the first half, outshooting the Herons 16-2, but DeVito kept the visitors at bay, recording eight saves by halftime.
The Falcons broke through just over five minutes into the second half. Kristen Levesque got a shot in close off a penalty corner, but junior
Bennett Tierney notched a defensive save by stopping the ball on the line, but before she could clear it away, Kaylor Rosenberry poked it into the cage for her first goal of the season.
It remained a one-goal game deep into the match as DeVito and the Heron defense repulsed wave after wave of attacking Falcons. Messiah finally got some breathing room in the 66th minute. Hannah Palm took a shot toward the left post, but DeVito got a stick on it to direct it wide. Unfortunately, Taylor Wiederrecht was there to roll it home for fifth goal of the year. Three minutes later, Palm tucked a shot inside the left post on a shot from the middle of the striking circle.
DeVito's 14 second half saves would have surpassed her previous career high for a game by four. Coupled with her first half total, it was the most saves by a Heron since Susan Jordan '06 turned away a single game record 23 against Montclair State on Nov. 11, 2005.
Messiah finished the match with a 40-2 advantage in shots and a 14-1 edge in penalty corners. Shelby Landes made one save to earn the shutout for the Falcons.
William Smith finished the season with a 5-11 record. Sophomore
Sophie Craig posted a team-high 20 points on nine goals and two assists. Tierney and senior
Samantha Petruzzo shared the team lead with two defensive saves apiece. DeVito earned the decision in goal in all 16 matches this year, posting a .720 save percentage and a 2.85 GAA.