GENEVA, N.Y.— The William Smith field hockey team rallied from behind to defeat Vassar 2-1 in overtime in a crucial Liberty League matchup on McCooey Field this afternoon. With the win the Herons keep their playoff hopes alive and move to 7-9 overall and 3-3 in conference play, while the Brewers fall to 3-13 overall with a 1-5 mark in the Liberty League.
Senior Hannah Huston scored the golden goal 5:05 into overtime to lift the Herons to victory. Junior Abby Jones was credited with the assist on the penalty corner. First-year Caroline Kogut sent the game to overtime with her team-leading ninth goal of the season. Huston tallied the assist on the goal off the penalty corner.
William Smith held a 10-5 advantage in shots, landing six on target compared to Vassar's four. The Herons also held a 7-3 edge in penalty corners, including a 4-1 advantage in the second half. William Smith scored both of its goals off penalty corners to earn the crucial conference victory.
First-year Baker Jeremiah played all 65:05 in goal for the Herons and made three saves in the win. She is now 7-9 on the season.
MATCH MOMENTS:
- The first half saw most of the action in the midfield as the team's traded possession of the ball. Each team registered one shot in the half but couldn't grab any momentum as they both headed into halftime scoreless.
- The Brewers opened the scoring in the 36th minute after Sofia Beseth fired a shot that deflected past Jeremiah to give Vassar a 1-0 lead.
- William Smith responded with two shots back-to-back to try and even the score, but Grace Wiley stood tall in net for the Brewers.
- The Herons continued to apply pressure and eventually got on the board with under five minutes remaining in regulation after being awarded a penalty corner. Huston inserted the ball to Kogut at the top of the arc who fired off a shot past Wiley.
- The Brewers earned a penalty corner of their own with just over two minutes remaining, but Jeremiah came up big making the save on Anna Hazewindus' shot to send the game to overtime.
- Vassar applied the early pressure in overtime and earned their third penalty corner of the game. Zoe Robinson fired off a shot for the Brewers, but Jeremiah was there again to make the save.
- The Herons grabbed back the momentum and found back-to-back shots from sophomore Leah Griffith and first-year Mia Batchelder which resulted in a penalty corner.
- Huston inserted the corner to first-year Ana Dios Vidal who fired off a shot. Her shot was deflected by Jones in front of goal and fell to the stick of Huston. Huston buried her shot into the back of the net for her third goal of the season, giving the Herons the key conference victory.
GOLDEN GOAL:
COACHES CORNER:
"Tonight's match was very exciting as we came from behind to tie it up late in the game," said Head Coach Sophie Riskie '07. "Vassar did a great job with possession and had low defensive sticks which challenged us to find different options in the attack circle. I'm really proud of our team in our ability to elevate our play in the second half through the final minutes of the game. We look forward to our last regular season conference game at RPI on Saturday."
UP NEXT:
William Smith will be back in action Sunday, Oct. 27, when it travels to Troy for another crucial conference matchup with RPI. Action between the Herons and the Engineers is set for 2 p.m. at East Campus Athletic Village.
