Herons roll past Lakers 6-0

Recap, photo courtesy of William Smith

GENEVA, N.Y.- The 13th-ranked William Smith College field hockey team cruised to a 6-0 non-conference victory over Oswego on McCooey Field this evening. Junior Maura Moran led the way for the Herons with two goals.

William Smith (8-3) quickly seized momentum when senior Alessandra Patrizio forced a turnover on the opening hit and carried the ball into the attacking half of the field, a position they were in for a majority of tonight's game. William Smith cracked the scoresheet in the 10th minute when Moran converted on a penalty stroke. It was her third penalty stroke goal in four games. Four minutes later, Moran struck again for her ninth goal of the season. She fired a shot on goal from in front of the cage that redirected off a Laker defender and into the cage.

At the 26 minute mark, Sierramarie Fitzgerald collected her first goal in a Heron uniform to put
William Smith up 3-0. Junior Alexandra Frary was credited with an assist on the goal after playing give-and-go with Fitzgerald at the top of the arc.

William Smith picked up right where it left off to start the second half. In the 39th minute, Katie Meyer notched her first goal of the season. She collected a pass from Fallon Adair and fired a shot past Oswego goalie, Sarita Charap. Frary collected a goal of her own in the 55th minute when she redirected a Jessica Borbee shot from the top of the arc into the upper right corner of the cage.

Junior Hannah Wood closed out the scoring in the 68th minute when she pocketed her 15th goal of the season. She wound up and blasted a shot past Charap from the top of the arc. Patrizio was credited with an assist after inserting the penalty corner.

The Herons went to the bench for a majority of the second half and several players had golden scoring opportunities. Sophomore Caroline Mackin had two point-blank opportunities, one that was turned aside by Charap and one that was swept off the line by defender Corinne Kimmelman. First-year Kelsey Pierce also had two chances to collect her first collegiate goal but Charap was there to turn the opportunities aside. Emily Brockwell also recorded a defensive save in the second half for the Lakers.

In goal, senior Amy Feda started her first game since 2013 and made one save on her way to collecting her second career shutout. Charap played all 70 minutes in the Oswego cage and made a season-high 18 saves.

William Smith finished the game with a 37-2 edge in shots and earned 15 penalty corners to two earned by the Lakers.

The Herons were the only Liberty League team in action to secure a victory this afternoon. William Smith will host Ithaca on Saturday. The non-conference match is scheduled to begin at noon on McCooey Field.