GENEVA, N.Y.— The William Smith field hockey team rallied from behind to defeat St. Lawrence 3-1 this afternoon in its Liberty League opener on McCooey Field. With the win, the Herons improve to 6-5 on the season with a 1-0 mark in conference play while the Saints fall to 3-5 overall and 0-2 in the Liberty League.
 
William Smith put on an impressive performance in its conference opener and dominated the stat sheet against St. Lawrence. The Herons held a 16-6 advantage in shots, including a 9-3 edge in shots on target. William Smith also earned seven penalty corners compared to the Saints' two.
 
Sophomore Hadley Harbert led the way with three points on a goal and an assist in the win. Harbert's goal was the first of her career and was credited as the game-winner. Classmates Eliza Freeland and Ana Dios Vidal scored a goal each for the Herons. Both goals were the third of their careers. Graduate student Rebecca Mantione recorded an assist in the win and fired off three shots for William Smith. Sophomore Mia Batchelder led the Herons with four shots in the victory.
 
First-year Olivia Terranova played all 60 minutes in goal for William Smith and recorded two saves in the win. She is now 3-3 in her rookie season.

MATCH MOMENTS:

• After a scoreless opening quarter, the Saints got on the board first in the 17th minute. St. Lawrence was awarded a penalty corner and inserted the ball to Maja Helmer. Helmer dished a pass off to Maddy Shaw that sent a shot through traffic and into the net to take the early 1-0 lead.
• Just under 10 minutes later, the Herons responded with a goal of their own to tie the game at 1-1. Mantione intercepted a pass at half field and rushed through the Saints defense. She beat her defender on the endline and slotted a shot that was saved by Elizabeth Walsh. The rebound fell perfectly to the stick of Freeland who tapped the ball into the net to get William Smith on the board. It was her first goal of the season.
• 73 seconds later the Herons would strike again after being awarded a penalty corner. William Smith inserted the ball to Mantione at the top of the arc who dished a pass off to a waiting Harbert. Harbert buried a shot from the top of the arc past the Saints goalie to give the Herons the lead heading into half time. It was her first career goal for William Smith.
• William Smith would double its lead with less than one minute remaining in the third quarter after being awarded another penalty corner. Sophomore Leah Griffith inserted the ball to sophomore Caroline Kogut at the top of the arc. Kogut slipped a pass to Harbert who fired a shot towards net. Dios Vidal was waiting in front of goal and tipped the shot past the Saints goalie to give William Smith a 3-1 lead.
• The Herons and the Saints continued to trade possession through the remaining 15 minutes of play until William Smith nearly got on the board again. Junior Elle Oberfield slipped a pass to sophomore Madison Campisi who chipped a shot into the back of the net but the refs called a foul on the play to keep the score at 3-1.
• William Smith closed out the conference battle on top 3-1 to earn its first Liberty League win of the season.

COACHES CORNER:

"That was a really strong team win today against St. Lawrence," said Head Coach Sophie Riskie '07. "We focused our possession, generated consistent attack, finished some really well-executed opportunities, and stayed disciplined defensively. I'm proud of the way we set the tone early and then maintained our composure to close it out."

UP NEXT:

William Smith will be back in action Sunday Oct. 5, when it travels to Saratoga Springs for a Liberty League matchup with Skidmore. Action between the Herons and the Thoroughbreds is set to begin at 2 p.m.