The nationally ranked William Smith College field hockey team suffered a 2-1 nonconference loss to SUNY Cortland this afternoon in a dramatic overtime battle. The Herons fall to 4-3 on the season while the Red Dragons remain undefeated and move to 4-0.
First-year Leah Griffith led the Herons with two points on one goal. Griffith’s goal was her first career goal as a Heron and second straight game earning at least one point.
Cortland outshot William Smith 10-3 and had the edge in shots on goal with seven compared to the Herons’ two. The Red Dragons also led in penalty corners, recording 12 compared to William Smith’s four.
MATCH MOMENTS
- The first half was a scoreless battle between the two sides, with most of the action happening in midfield. Cortland landed two shots in the first half compared to William Smith’s zero.
- With 2:14 remaining in the third quarter, the Herons would strike first after being awarded a penalty corner. Graduate student Kate Barilla fired a shot from the top of the arc that Griffith got a clean deflection on to beat the Red Dragon goalie for her first career goal as a Heron.
- At the 51:13 mark, Cortland would tie the game up at 1-1 after being awarded a penalty corner as well. Gianna Trunfio slipped a shot past senior Brittany Foster to even up the score. Isabel Adams was credited with the assist.
- Just over three minutes later, Cortland would be awarded a penalty stroke opportunity to take the lead. Foster was up to the task and made a huge save to send the game to overtime.
- 6:09 into overtime the Red Dragons would be awarded with another penalty corner. Cortland would fire a shot that Barilla made an important defensive save on. The rebound fell to an oncoming Molly Miller who buried the rebound to give the Red Dragons a 2-1 overtime victory.
- Foster played all 67 minutes of the game for the Herons and recorded four saves in the loss. She is now 1-1 on the season for William Smith.
COACHES CORNER
“We battled hard today at Cortland,” said Head Coach Sophie Riskie ’07. “It was a championship level game and I’m proud of how hard the Herons worked. We look forward to being back on McCooey Field this week in preparation for conference play.”
UP NEXT
William Smith will be back in action on Wednesday, Sept. 20, when it welcomes the University of Rochester to open conference play. The Herons are set to take on the Yellowjackets at 7 p.m. on McCooey Field.
Kyle leads sports coverage and hosts the Concrete Jungle podcast. Have a lead or question? Send it to [email protected].