William Smith (9-0) jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the 10th minute. After a penalty corner, junior Jessica Borbee collected a rebound and lifted a shot past the Bombers' goalie. A minute later Wood had two golden scoring opportunities turned aside by Ithaca's Katie Lass.
In the 16th minute, the Bombers (6-3) tied the game at one. Colleen Keegan-Twombly scored on a scramble in front of the cage. Olivia Salindong was credited with the assist.
Late in the first half, the Herons carried the majority of the play. Borbee and Wood each had shots turned aside by Lass and then first-year, Fallon Adair steered a shot just outside the left post. The game remained tied 1-1 at halftime.
Early in the second half, the Herons' defense came up big. In the 40th minute, senior Madison Finn made a clutch defensive save stopping a Caitlin O'Brien shot from crossing the goal line. Less than a minute later, Keegan-Twombley had a scoring opportunity blocked by a defender.
Wood's 14th goal of the season proved to be the game-winner. In the 59th minute, she collected a rebound, dribbled the ball along the end line, and backhanded a shot past Lass into net. A little more than two minutes later, Wood broke in on Lass all alone but was unable to slide the ball past the Ithaca goalie.
The Herons dominated the stat sheet but were only able to beat Lass twice. William Smith outshot the Bombers 19-7 and earned 12 penalty corners to Ithaca's six.
Junior Biz Chirco started in goal for the Herons and made four saves, while Lass started for the Bombers and made 10 stops.
William Smith returns to Liberty League play on Saturday, Oct. 3, when they travel to Poughkeepsie, N.Y. to take on Vassar. The conference clash with the Brewers is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.
