GENEVA, N.Y.—The fifth-ranked William Smith College Soccer team scored a pair of goals in each half as it knocked off Rochester Institute of Technology 4-1 on Cozzens Field this afternoon. With the win, the Herons are 4-1-1 on the season with a 1-0-0 mark in conference play. The Tigers are now 5-1-0 on the season and 0-1-0 in Liberty League play.
Ava Ruppersburger led the way for William Smith, scoring twice. Moira van der Putt added a goal and an assist. Kirsten Nelson started in goal and made a career-high five saves. Amanda Kesler played the final 16 minutes and made one save. Darcie Jones played all 90 minutes in goal and made three saves.
FIRST HALF:
- William Smith opened the scoring in the fourth minute. Ruppersburger collected a leading pass from Shayna Straney, broke into the 18-yard box, and slipped a shot past Jones.
- Christine Cataldo-Smith nearly tied the game in the 20th minute, but Nelson dove to her right to make the save.
- Van der Putt extended the William Smith lead to 2-0 with her first goal of the season. Jones attempted to punch a crossing pass out of the attacking box, but the ball fell right to van der Putt, who buried the shot in the back of the net.
- The Herons finished the opening half with a 5-3 edge in shots on goal.
SECOND HALF:
- RIT came out of the halftime break firing on all cylinders. Maddy Bullis blasted a shot on goal from just outside the 18-yard box, but Nelson was there to make the save.
- Cataldo-Smith fired a shot right into Nelson’s waiting arms.
- In the 58th minute, Roberta Moger ended the shutout bid with her first goal of the season. She headed home a cross from Cataldo-Smith.
- Marjorie Plants’ first goal of the season extended William Smith’s lead to 3-1. She collected a leading pass from van der Putt, dribbled into the box and chipped a shot into the right corner of the cage.
- Ruppersberger wrapped up the scoring 10 minutes later. She intercepted a pass near midfield, dribbled past two defenders and buried a shot past Jones. It was her team-leading third goal of the season.
KEY STATS:
- RIT finished the game with a 15-9 edge in shots, but William Smith had a 5-3 advantage in corner kicks.
- The Herons have won 13 straight games against the Tigers.
COACH’S CORNER:
“That was a great opening game of conference play,” Head Coach Aliceann Wilber said. “RIT is a program we have a tremendous amount of respect for. We know they are going to battle and always come up with a good game plan. We got off to a strong start in the first half. They answered and had us on our heels a bit, but our counters are good and we got four good goals.”
“We are growing and developing,” Wilber added. “One of our intentions was to grow and develop kids coming off the bench and I thought they acquitted themselves well.”
UP NEXT:
William Smith will be back in action on Saturday, Sept. 24, when it heads to Saratoga Springs, New York, to take on Skidmore. The game is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m.
