The William Smith soccer team will be back in action on Saturday, Oct. 18, when it heads to Poughkeepsie, New York, to take on 17th-ranked Vassar in a Liberty League showdown. The middle game of a three-game road trip for the Herons is set for 2 p.m. at Vassar's Gordon Field.
 
William Smith is 8-2-2 overall with a 4-1-0 record in Liberty League play. The Herons enter the weekend on a four-game win streak after last Saturday's 2-0 win over Skidmore. Senior Ruth Hotaling scored both of the Herons' goals.
 
Vassar is 11-2-0 overall with a 5-0-0 record in Liberty League play. The Brewers have won five straight games, including a 4-1 victory at St. Lawrence last Saturday.
 
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ABOUT THE HERONS

• Hotaling leads the Liberty League and is 27th in the nation with 11 goals. She also leads the league with 23 points.
• Hotaling's four game-winning goals are 16th in the nation.
• Sophomore Grace Metzler leads the team with three assists.
• Junior Antonia Goerke has played the majority of time in goal for the Herons. She has a 0.78 GAA, a .783 save percentage and seven shutouts, ninth most in the nation.

 
ABOUT THE BREWERS

• Ava Holman (7g, 1a) and Riley McGrath (6g, 3a) lead Vassar with 15 points each.
• Sonya Franklin is right behind them with 14 points.
• Rebecca Rodriguez has a team-high six assists
• Goalkeeper Laura Shea has played the majority of the minutes for the Brewers this season. She is 10-2-0 with a 0.63 GAA and an .854 save percentage.

 
SERIES HISTORY

• Saturday will be the 31st meeting between the Herons and the Brewers.
• William Smith leads the all-time series 25-1-4, including an 11-0-1 mark in Poughkeepsie.
• On Nov. 8, 2024, the Herons won 2-0 on Cozzens Field to advance to the Liberty League Championship.

 
PLAYOFF PUSH

• Entering the weekend, Vassar and William Smith sit first and second in the league standings with 15 and 12 points, respectively.
• The Herons enter the weekend two points clear of third-place Union.
• The battle for playoff spots is heating up with only three games left in league play. Places four through eight in the standings are separated by just four points.