GENEVA, N.Y.-The ninth-ranked William Smith College soccer team and fifth-ranked Williams battled to a 1-1 tie on a snowy afternoon on Boswell Field at David J Urick Stadium. The Ephs, who are the defending national champions, advanced to the national semifinals, 2-1 on penalty kicks.
 
The Herons finished their season with a 17-3-1 overall record. Williams is 17-1-4 overall and will take on 11th-ranked Christopher Newport in the national semifinals.
 
William Smith applied pressure in the offensive half of the field right from the opening whistle. In the first minute, sophomore Julia Keogh carried the ball down the right wing, broke into the 18-yard box, and fired a shot on cage. Olivia Barnhill dove to her right and made the save. The Herons continued to apply the pressure breaking through for a 1-0 lead at the 5:08 mark. Following a Williams foul, sophomore Lindsey Jameson served the free kick into the box. The ball glanced off a defender to the foot of Keogh. She turned and fired a shot into the upper right corner of the goal.
 
The Ephs tied the game 27 seconds later. Following the restart, Aspen Pierson dribbled the ball down the left side of the field and crossed the ball into the box. Georgia Lord ran on to the end of the crossing pass and chipped the ball towards goal. Liz Girvan, who was acting as a screen to Veronica Romines, redirected Lord's shot across the goal line with a heel flick into the lower left corner of the goal.
 
The Herons nearly took a 2-1 lead in the 37th minute but junior Elizabeth Moore's header just missed the crossbar.
 
The game settled down from there with the teams trading chances in the opening 45 minutes. The Ephs finished the first half with a 9-8 edge in shots.
 
William Smith dominated the time of possession in the second half but could not solve Barnhill. The Herons had a 10-3 edge in the half. Sophomore Sheila McQuillen had a chance for more late game heroics in the 70th minute. She fired a shot from the top of the 18-yard box squarely off the left goal post. Keogh nearly scored her second goal of the game in the 78^th minute but her shot went off the crossbar.
 
The weather conditions worsened throughout the contest with snow starting to accumulate during the overtime periods. Williams nearly made penalty kicks a mute point in the 109th minute. Sarah Hollinger broke down the left wing all alone and dribbled the ball into the box. Her shot was turned aside by Romines. Georgia Lord collected the rebound but her shot attempt was blocked.
 
William Smith finished the game with a 22-15 edge in shots and earned a 10-3 advantage in corner kicks. Romines made four saves in 110 minutes in goal for the Herons while Olivia Barnhill made seven stops for Williams.
 
After the penalty area was cleared of snow, first-year goalie Amanda Kesler came off the bench for William Smith. Kesler and Barnhill traded saves in the first round of kicks. In the second round, Pierson and senior Megan Barwick drilled their shots into the back of the net. Kesler and Barnhill traded saves in the third round. Rain Condie scored the difference maker in the fourth round of shootout. Barnhill made saves on William Smith's final two attempts.
 
The Herons senior class of Kaileen Murray, Phoebe Wade, Megan Barwick, Sarah Oick-Sutphen, Megan Richard, and Veronica Romines led William Smith to a 76-7-3 four year record, four Liberty League regular season and tournament titles, and four trips to the NCAA tournament.
 
This season was the 35th consecutive winning season for William Smith soccer and the Herons' 29th appearance in the NCAA Tournament.