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Herons clinch UCAA title, NCAA Tournament berth
October 19, 2001
GENEVA, N.Y.--The William Smith College field hockey team defeated Vassar College 7-2 to claim its second straight Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association title and NCAA Tournament berth. Junior forward Sheila McKevitt (Clinton/Clinton, N.Y.) and senior midfielder Nicky Livingston (Whitney Point/Whitney Point, N.Y.) led the Herons with five and four-point days, respectively.
Junior back Neely Wakeman (Holderness School/Cohasset, Mass.) deflected a shot by senior forward Jackie Hall (Berkshire School/Newport, R. I.) into the goal for a 1-0 William Smith lead just 54 seconds into the game. At the 20:44 mark, McKevitt buried a pass from Hall for a 2-0 lead. Nine minutes later first-year Sarah Silverio (Radnor/Villanova, Pa.) added another followed by a goal from senior forward Carrie Cicciarelli (Whitney Point/Lisle, N.Y.) on an assist from Livingston 54 seconds later. With just under three minutes to go in the half, the Brewers trimmed the lead to 4-1 as first-year midfielder Emily Morris (Wallingford, Conn.) banged in a rebound off a shot by senior forward Annie Ferrell (Norwich, Vt.).
Eight minutes into the second half, junior midfielder Erin Weir (Blair Academy/Califon, N.J.) put the Herons up 5-1 on Livingston's second assist of the contest. Three minutes later Livingston made it a five-goal game on an assist from McKevitt. With 16:45 remaining in the half, McKevitt closed out William Smith's scoring with her second of the game. Vassar sophomore midfielder Ellen Ridyard (Jenkintown, Pa.) netted the final goal of the day as the Herons went on to the 7-2 victory.
In goal, sophomores Jessica Kulesa (Garden City/Garden City, N.Y.) and Jessica Skovron (Exeter/Exter, N.H.) each played a half and made a save for William Smith. Senior Jessica Babb (Stow, Mass.) made two saves in 58 minutes before giving way to sophomore Tara Trifon (New York, N.Y.) who made three saves in the final 22 minutes for the Brewers (7-7, 1-5 UCAA).
The fourth-ranked Herons (12-3, 6-0 UCAA) close out the regular season Oct. 20, when they host No. 19 Rensselaer at 2 p.m.