ROCHESTER, N.Y.— Three different Herons scored as the William Smith field hockey team rallied to defeat Nazareth 3-2 this evening in a nonconference battle at NLPA Field. With the win, the Herons improve to 5-2 on the season, while the Golden Flyers fall to 3-2 overall.
William Smith dominated the stat sheet in the nonconference matchup with Nazareth. The Herons held a 20-5 advantage in shots as well as a 16-5 edge in shots on target. William Smith earned nine penalty corners compared to the Golden Flyers' one, while Nazareth tallied 13 saves compared to the Herons' three.
Graduate student
Rebecca Mantione and sophomores
Madison Campisi and
Ana Dios Vidal led the way for the Herons with a goal each in the win. Junior
Leah Griffith and sophomore
Caroline Kogut tallied one point on an assist each. Kogut fired off a team-leading six shots, landing five on target, while senior
Lily Gutch, Campisi, Mantione and Griffith each tallied two shots for William Smith. Griffith recorded her second career defensive save in the win for the Herons.
Sophomore goalie
Baker Jeremiah played all 60 minutes in goal for William Smith and made two saves in the win. With the win, Jeremiah improves to 3-1 on the season.
MATCH MOMENTS:
- Nazareth opened the scoring in the fourth minute against the run of play as Audra Mieczkowski fired off a shot that beat Jeremiah. Michaela Cushman was credited with the assist.
- William Smith would respond just under three minutes into the second quarter as Campisi would tally her third goal of the season. Campisi found the ball in front of net, turned and fired off a shot which was originally saved by Lauren Bachner. The rebound fell right back to Campisi's stick and her rebound found the back of the net to tie the game at 1-1.
- The Herons continued to apply the pressure on the Golden Flyers and maintained the games momentum until the 24th minute when William Smith would score its second goal of the game to grab the lead. After earning a penalty corner, the Herons forced a scramble in front of the net. Griffith found Dios Vidal who fired off a shot past Bachner to give the Herons a 2-1 lead.
- Just five minutes into the second half, William Smith doubled its lead. Kogut fired off a long pass down the center of the field and found the stick of Mantione, who turned and slipped a shot past Bachner to make it 3-1. It was her team-leading sixth goal of the season and fourth straight game with a goal.
- Nazareth fired back just three minutes later after a counterattack opportunity found the stick of Hannah Janes. Janes sliced a pass through to Cushman who tapped the ball past Jeremiah to bring the Golden Flyers back within one.
- The Golden Flyers nearly tied the game at the 51:50 mark as Isabel Porterfield took a shot that beat Jeremiah but Griffith was there to save the day and swipe the ball off the line.
- William Smith would grab back the momentum and fire off the last four shots of the game, keeping Nazareth off the board and closing out the nonconference battle on top 3-2.
UP NEXT:
William Smith will be back in action Saturday, Sept. 20, when it travels to Cortland, New York, to take on SUNY Cortland in a nonconference contest. Action between the Herons and the Red Dragons is set for 1 p.m. at SUNY Cortland Stadium Complex.