TROY, N.Y. --The William Smith field hockey dropped its conference opener to RPI this afternoon, 2-1. With the loss, the Herons fall to 4-7 overall and 0-1 in the Liberty League, while the Engineers improved to 7-2 on the season with a 1-0 mark in conference play.
The conference opener saw RPI outshoot William Smith 14-6, with the Engineers landing seven shots on target compared to the Herons' four. RPI held a 9-5 advantage in penalty corners, while William Smith made five stops compared to the Engineer's three.
Junior Ana Dios Vidal scored the lone goal for the Herons, while junior Caroline Kogut was credited with the assist. Junior Mia Bolster led William Smith with two shots in the conference clash while Dios Vidal, and seniors Ava Vecchione and Leah Griffith as well as junior Mia Batchelder added one shot each in the loss.
First-year Ryan Marsh got the start in goal for the Herons and made one save in 30 minutes of play. Sophomore Olivia Terranova came in for the second half and made four stops for William Smith. Terranova is now 4-5 on the season.
MATCH MOMENTS:
- William Smith opened the scoring just under four minutes into the game after Kogut fired a long shot in front of goal. Dios Vidal deflected the shot past the Engineer goalie to give the Herons an early 1-0 lead. It was Dios Vidal's second goal of the season.
- The two sides continued to trade possessions for the remainder of the opening quarter. RPI fired off the final two shots of the quarter, but Marsh and the defense stood tall to maintain their lead.
- The Engineers responded at the 28:27 mark after Ria Patel sliced through two defenders and slipped a shot past Marsh to tie the game at 1-1 heading into halftime.
- RPI took the lead just 4:36 into the second half after being awarded a penalty corner. Terranova made the original save on Emily Frey's shot, but the rebound fell to Sophia Brown who slipped a shot into the Heron goal to give the Engineers a 2-1 lead.
- The Engineers controlled most of the momentum for the remainder of the game, firing off eight shots and earning five penalty corners compared to the Herons' three shots and three penalty corners in the final 25 minutes.
- William Smith tried to make a late push, pulling its goalie and earning a late penalty corner but junior Mia Bolster's shot was stopped by Olivia Brovak. The Engineers would close out the conference clash on top, 2-1.
UP NEXT:
William Smith will be back in action on Sunday, Oct. 4, when it hosts Liberty League foe, Vassar. Action between the Herons and the Brewers is set for noon on McCooey Field. Free William Smith Homecoming T-shirts will be handed out to the first 100 fans at Sunday's game as a part of Homecoming and Family Weekend. Field hockey fans are encouraged to participate in a "Green Out" for the match. Shirts will be distributed at the gates beginning 30 minutes before the start of the game.
