The 1997 William Smith field hockey team posted a 20-2 record and won the UCAA championship with an unblemished 6-0 record before marching to the NCAA title.
Five years removed from the program’s first national championship, the Herons were coming off a 12-8 season that saw them finish second in the 1996 Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association standings. William Smith suffered a heartbreaking 2-1 overtime defeat to Messiah to open the season. Extra time would be a recurring theme for the Herons.
William Smith rebounded from the setback to the Falcons by running off 13 consecutive victories, including overtime affairs with St. Lawrence (1-0 in OT), Susquehanna (1-0 in OT), Ithaca (2-1 in OT), and Cortland (1-0 in 2OT).
The Herons’ second and final stumbling block was Lebanon Valley by a 1-0 count, but William Smith would get revenge. Amy Woodland made sure the team ended the regular season on a high note, scoring with just 12 seconds remaining to lift the Herons to a 2-1 over Lock Haven.
In the postseason, William Smith earned a spot in the New York State Championship game with a 4-3 double overtime win against Hartwick thanks to Ami Ford’s game-winner. Unfortunately, inclement weather wiped out the title game.
In the NCAA tournament, the Herons slipped past Rowan in the first round 2-1 in overtime and breezed past TCNJ in the quarterfinals 2-0. William Smith sweated out another 2-1 triumph in the semifinals, this time needing a 3-1 victory in penalty strokes at Lebanon Valley, before raising the championship trophy with a 3-0 shutout of Cortland.
Bianca Dupuis, Sue Thibodeau, and Woodland earned All-America honors, while the team also boasted the UCAA player, rookie, and coach of the year in Dupuis, Shannon Eggleston, and Sally Scatton, respectively.
Thibodeau led the team with 18 goals and 41 points. Eggleston (11-3-25) and Carrie Weiner (9-3-21) were second and third, respectively, in points. Woodland added six goals and a team-high seven assists. In goal, Dupuis went 20-2 with a .906 save percentage and a miniscule 0.525 goals against average with 12 shutouts.
