Tara Valas had a goal and two assists as William Smith defeated Chatham 5-3 in a nonconference women’s hockey game Friday at The Cooler in Geneva.
The Herons improved to 2-1-1, while Chatham fell to 1-1-1, according to Hobart and William Smith Athletics. William Smith outshot the Cougars 63-14 but had to protect a one-goal lead throughout most of the third period.
Four-goal flurry tightens the game
Finley Crosby opened the scoring at 12:11 of the first period, collecting a pass from Madeline Diglio just after a power play expired and shooting past Chatham goalkeeper Morgan Miller. Abigail Schum also assisted on Crosby’s second goal of the season.
Bella Hacker made it 2-0 just under nine minutes into the second period. She converted a rebound on the power play for her third goal of the season, with assists from Laine Heiser and Valas.
Chatham’s Klara Miuller answered about a minute later, scoring her seventh goal of the season off assists from Audrey Coomber and Emily Crow.
Four goals followed in a one-minute stretch late in the second period. First-year forward Talia Mertens poked in a loose puck on the power play for her second goal of the season, assisted by Sena Hasegawa and Valas.
Ainsley Lonczak scored 22 seconds later to put William Smith ahead 4-1. Crosby and Diglio assisted on Lonczak’s second goal of the season.
Miuller then scored twice to complete her hat trick and cut the lead to 4-3 before the second intermission. Hailey Braaten and Morgan Black assisted on both goals.
Herons close out the win
Valas sealed the result with an empty-net goal at 19:33 of the third period. Crosby finished with a goal and an assist, while Diglio had two assists.
Julia Echavarria played all 60 minutes in goal for William Smith and made 11 saves. Miller stopped 58 shots for Chatham.
The Herons went 2-for-7 on the power play, and the Cougars were 1-for-2. William Smith also won 35 of 65 faceoffs.
“We played a solid game in all three zones for pretty close to 60 minutes, a great sign as we head into league play,” head coach Matt Cunningham said.
William Smith begins SUNYAC play next weekend, hosting Oswego at 3 p.m. Friday, Nov. 13, before facing Canton on Nov. 14.
FingerLakes1.com is the region’s leading all-digital news publication. The company was founded in 1998 and has been keeping residents informed for more than two decades. Have a lead? Send it to news@fingerlakes1.com.