GENEVA, N.Y.—The William Smith College field hockey team rallied for a 3-2 victory over Lebanon Valley College in the finale of the 2018 William Smith Classic. Sophomore
Sophie Craig's team-leading seventh goal of the season in the 58th minute of the match proved to be the difference.
On the game-winning goal, Craig dribbled inside the arc from the left wing and fired a shot from the slot that glanced off of goalkeeper Victoria ByDeley's pad and found its way to the back of the cage.
Sophomore goalkeeper
Alexandra DeVito made the one goal advantage stand up with a pair of saves in the game's final minute. She earned the win with a total of four stops while ByDelay recorded eight saves.
In the first half, Lebanon Valley (2-4) enjoyed a 6-3 advantage in shots, but the match was tied at 1 apiece at halftime. Cecile Kat, assisted by Jenna Lysakowski, scored the opening goal of the game 9:30 in, but just 30 seconds later, William Smith (3-3) sent a long ball in on ByDeley that she kicked right to Craig. Her shot off the rebound was true tying the match.
Kat picked up her second goal in the 44th minute, redirecting a shot by Hannah Simon, past DeVito. The Herons again equalized, this time about eight minutes later, when first-year
Emily Leonard cleared the ball out of a scrum in the middle of the arc. Her pass found the waiting stick of classmate
Shannon Roycroft at the back post, who flicked home her first collegiate goal.
On a hot and humid day that tested the durability of even the fittest players, William Smith's second goal seemed to spark a team-wide second wind. The Herons enjoyed a 13-7 advantage in shots in the second half and finished the day with a 16-13 edge. LVC had 15 penalty corners to William Smith's nine.
The Herons won both of their matches in this year's classic, defeating Manhattanville 3-1 yesterday. Coupled with a 2-0 win over St. Lawrence yesterday, the Dutchmen finished 1-1. The Saints were also 1-1, beating the Valiants 3-1 in today's first match.
William Smith has won three in a row heading into conference play. The Herons are back in action at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 20, when they travel to defending Liberty League Champion Rochester.
