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Herons win Liberty League opener
September 23 , 2005
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Sophie Dennis fakes out her defender
during William Smith's 4-1 victory over
Rensselaer. |
GENEVA, N.Y.—The seventh-ranked William Smith College field hockey team won its Liberty League opener 4-1 over visiting Rensselaer at McCooey Field. Junior forward Sophie Dennis (Dana L. West/Port Byron, N.Y.) led the charge with a four-point afternoon.
Dennis opened the scoring in the 13th minute, redirecting a shot by senior Lauren Fuller (Shaker/Loudonville, N.Y.) past the Red Hawks’ senior goalie Amanda Lund (Valley/Chester, Conn.) for her sixth goal of the season. Lund finished with 13 saves.
Ten minutes later, RPI (3-2, 0-1 Liberty) equalized on a shot by sophomore Sarah Merlin (Sharon/Sharon, Mass.).
The tally served as a wake up call for the Herons (5-1, 1-0), who entered the game riding a 17-game regular season conference win streak. Senior Amy Kuzio (Clinton/Clinton, N.Y.) put William Smith back in front with her third goal of the year at the 23:55 mark. Eighty-five seconds later, Dennis set up senior Maggie Dolan’s (Towson/Towson, Md.) team-leading seventh goal of the season.
The Herons led 3-1 at halftime.
After the break, senior Patricia Foster (Newton Country Day/Needham, Mass.) recorded her first goal of the season in the 59th minute, sending a rocket past Lund on a penalty corner, assisted by Kuzio and Dennis.
In goal, senior Sue Jordan (Boothbay/Boothbay, Maine) picked up the win with four saves.
William Smith returns to action on Sept. 24, when the Vassar Brewers visit McCooey Field. The contest is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m.