The William Smith College soccer team jumped up four spots to No. 1 in the latest United Soccer Coaches Poll as it prepares to begin Liberty League play tomorrow, Sept. 20, when it heads to the Flower City to take on Rochester Institute of Technology. The game is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m.
The Herons improved to 4-0-1 with a 3-1 victory over then No. 1 Messiah on Saturday. Katrine Berg was named the Liberty League Co-Offensive Player of the Week after finishing with a game-high four points on a goal and two assists. She set up Marjorie Plants and Emma Faso’s first-half goals. She then headed home a corner kick to seal the victory in the second half. Ava Brazie was named the Liberty League Defensive Player of the Week, following the victory.
The Tigers are 2-4-0 and are looking to bounce back from a 2-1 loss to Geneseo last Saturday. Elena Onodera scored for the Tigers and Emily Sanchez played all 90 minutes against the Knights and made two saves.
Fans who cannot make the trip to Rochester can follow all the action with live stats and video courtesy of ritathletics.com.
ABOUT THE HERONS
- Ava Ruppersberger leads the Herons with six points on two goals and two assists.
- Katrine Berg leads William Smith with three assists.
- Kirsten Nelson has played every minute in goal. She is 4-0-1 with a 1.00 GAA and a .839 save percentage.
ABOUT THE TIGERS
- Olivia Harris and Onodera lead the Tigers with four points each. Harris has a goal and two assists and Ondera has two goals.
- Sanchez has played a majority of the minutes in goal. She is 2-3-0 with a 1.45 GAA and a .533 save percentage.
SERIES HISTORY
- Tomorrow’s game will be the 47th overall meeting between William Smith and RIT.
- The Herons are 43-0-3 all-time against the Tigers, including a 20-0-1 record in Rochester.
- William Smith was 1-0-1 last year against RIT. In the semifinals of the Liberty League tournament the teams battled to a 0-0 draw with the Herons advancing 4-2 on penalty kicks. William Smith won the regular season meeting 4-1. Ruppersberger scored twice in the regular season meeting.
Kyle leads sports coverage and hosts the Concrete Jungle podcast. Have a lead or question? Send it to [email protected].