GENEVA, N.Y.—The William Smith soccer team, which is receiving votes in this week's IWSOC poll, scored twice in the first half as it defeated Skidmore 2-1 in a Liberty League contest on Cozzens Field this afternoon. With their fifth straight win, the Herons improve to 9-3-0 on the season with a perfect 5-0-0 mark in conference play.
Junior
Grace Metzler and first-year
Grace Sudbay scored for William Smith. Senior
Antonia Goerke started in goal for the Herons and made two saves.
Abby Lewis scored for the Thoroughbreds (4-4-2, 1-3-1). Sophia Sayers played all 90 minutes in goal and matched her season-high with seven saves.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- William Smith had a 24-8 advantage in shots, including a 9-3 edge in shots on goal.
- The Herons recorded five corner kicks, and Skidmore had two.
FIRST HALF
- Junior Aleena Solano had the first shot of the game 31 seconds in. She chipped a long-range shot on goal that was stopped by Sayers.
- Five minutes later, senior Miranda Demura fired a shot from a tight angle that trickled wide right.
- In the 15th minute, Abby Lewis nearly scored for Skidmore, but her shot was blocked by a Heron defender.
- The Herons continued to pile up pressure in the first 20 minutes. Sophomore Brynn Schneider, Metzler and junior Kristin Middaugh all had chances narrowly miss their target.
- William Smith finally broke through in the 33rd minute. Metzler pressured Sayers into misplaying a defender's back pass. Metzler took the ball off of the goalie's foot inside the six-yard box and slipped a shot across the goal line for her fourth goal of the season.
- Just under two minutes later, Sudbay gave the Herons a 2-0 lead. She collected a pass from Middaugh, dribbled to the top of the 18-yard box and curled a left-footed shot past the Skidmore goalie. First-year Lea Bryant had an assist on the goal after starting the play in the midfield.
- Middaugh had two more scoring chances late in the opening frame, but Sayers made saves on both attempts.
SECOND HALF
- Middaugh nearly gave William Smith a 3-0 lead early in the second half. She cut the ball across the top of the 18-yard box and fired a shot off of the right goalpost.
- One minute later, Schneider had a shot blocked by a defender.
- Skidmore nearly broke up the shutout bid in the 52nd minute, but Ellianna Caporusso's shot was stopped by a hard-charging Goerke.
- In the 75th minute, Lewis streaked past a William Smith defender and broke into the 18-yard box. She chipped a shot on goal that was stopped by Goerke.
- Two minutes later, Lewis scored for Skidmore. She one-timed a crossing pass from Olivia Chandler. It was Lewis' fourth goal of the season.
COACH'S CORNER
"It was great to get a goal off our press. I think that really helped bring up the energy and it shifted the momentum in our favor," Head Coach
Laura Burnett-Kurie '08 said. "One of our strong suits today was our ability to win the ball back and win the ball back quickly. We came out in the second half with some good adjustments and some renewed energy, and we were unlucky to not get another goal. I then thought we handled it well when they scored. We regrouped and were able to have a strong finish to the game."
UP NEXT
William Smith will be back in action on Saturday, Oct. 17, when it welcomes ninth-ranked Vassar to Cozzens Field. The game is set to begin at 2 p.m.
