GENEVA, N.Y.—The William Smith College field hockey team had Liberty League front-runner Ithaca College on the ropes for much of this afternoon's conference showdown, but the Bombers rallied for two goals in the final six minutes to escape McCooey Field with a 2-1 victory.
The Bombers (10-2, 3-0 LL) began the day riding a six-match win streak and hadn't allowed a goal in more than 215 minutes. The Herons stopped the streak at 222:23, racing down the left sideline and working the ball into the circle for a 1-0 lead in the seventh minute.
William Smith started the play at the 25-yard line in their defensive zone.
Rebecca Mantione received a pass near midfield, outran her defender and played a cross into the circle where
Cora Nagle waited. She slotted a shot inside the near post for her first collegiate goal.
The Herons limited the Bombers to just two shots on goal in the first half, both of which were turned away by goalie
Kristen McCormick. William Smith led 1-0 at the half, despite being outshot 4-3.
In the third quarter, the Herons clogged the passing lanes and prevented the visitors from recording a shot, but neither could William Smith add to its lead.
Feeling the pressure of a waning clock, Ithaca found another gear in the fourth quarter. The Bombers generated five of their nine shots and four of their six penalty corners in the final 15 minutes. Ithaca appeared to break up the shutout with under 10 minutes remaining, but after a quick conference by the officials the goal was disallowed.
The play didn't discourage the Bombers, who merely redoubled their efforts. In the 55th minute, Morgan Mullen poked the ball away from a Heron defender near the top of the circle. She took two touches toward the William Smith goal and with McCormick charging at her, sent a pass over to Samantha Horowitz, who swept it into the open cage to tie the game. It was Horowitz's sixth goal of the season.
Ithaca earned its final penalty corner in the final minute. Jacqueline Mirabile inserted the corner to the top of the circle where Mullen stopped it, took one touch inside the arc and passed off to Victoria Sestito on her left. She fired a shot toward the near post, but the offering was redirected by Mirabile toward the penalty spot. Sestito's strike got McCormick to dive at her near post. She quickly got back to her feet and started to move toward the middle of the cage, but Grace Ziehnert's shot was inside the left post and McCormick wasn't able to reverse her momentum in time. The game winner came with just 10 seconds remaining.
William Smith (4-7, 0-3) will be back in action at 5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 15, when the Herons host St. Lawrence (7-5, 1-2). Ithaca will put its seven-match win streak on the line at 4 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 12, when the Bombers host New Paltz (9-2).
