GENEVA, N.Y. — The William Smith College field hockey team defeated Manhattanville 3-1 this afternoon in the first game of the 2019 William Smith Classic. The Herons improved to 1-3 overall this season.
 
The Herons outshot the Valiants 17-6. William Smith also had a slight 4-3 advantage in penalty corners. The Herons dominated the game, battling back in the second half as the visitors tried to rally.
 
Sophomore Anna Rider notched the first goal for the Herons 25 minutes into the game. Rider got her stick on the rebound of senior Kelsey Pierce's shot, and slotted the ball to the right of Zoe Fillebrown for her second career goal. William Smith led 9-3 in shots at the end of the half.
 
Junior Sophie Craig increased the Heron lead to 2-0 with a little more than ten minutes left in the second half. Manhattanville battled back when Arnise King scored off a pass from Robin Boot at the top of the arc. Boot was able to get the ball around junior Alexandra DeVito to record a goal for the Valiants.
 
First-year Mackenzie Wodka scored her first collegiate goal, and tallied the third Heron goal, when she got a shot off in traffic in front of the cage.
 
Fillebrown made five saves and DeVito stopped four shots for the win.
 
The Herons will be back in action tomorrow, Sunday, Sept. 15, for the fourth game of the 2019 William Smith Classic. The Herons will face Lebanon Valley at 2 p.m. on McCooey Field.