CORTLAND, N.Y. – The nationally 10th-ranked William Smith field hockey team won a shootout, 3-0, to earn a 4-3 win against Cortland Wednesday evening at the Stadium Complex White Field. The Herons won their 10th straight game and improved to 11-1 on the season, while Red Dragons fell to 6-5. The shootout, in which an offensive player has eight seconds to drive at the goal and score, replaces the old format of penalty strokes to determine a winner after a game is tied through regulation and two 15-minute overtime periods.
Junior
Erin Smith (Greene) scored a pair of goals for Cortland, senior
Sara Woodward (Ancram/Pine Plains) netted a goal, sophomore Abbey Wentlent (Greene) recorded two assists and senior
Katie Barbagallo (North Syracuse/Cicero-North Syracuse) chipped in with an assist. Sophomore goalie
Amanda Perricone (Bedminster, PA/Pennridge) made nine saves, while seniors Breanna Petronio (Holland Patent) and
Liz DeWaters (Lockport/Royalton-Hartland) collected defensive saves.
Junior Melanie O'Connor (Stockholm, NJ/Pope John XXIII) tallied a pair of goals for William Smith. Junior Taylor Cappello (Windsor) added a goal, and sophomore Caitlin Moran (Garwood, NJ/Arthur L. Johnson) had an assist. Sophomore goalie Catherine Hare (Red Hook) started in goal and made two saves in the first half before giving way to senior Taryn Little (Wells, VT/Granville), who stopped eight shots in the second half and overtimes.
Smith opened the scoring for Cortland 11 minutes, 28 seconds into the game when she scored off a long blast near the top of the circle. Cappello tied the score 70 seconds later, finishing off a one-on-one move versus Perricone after a long carry. The Red Dragons took a 3-1 lead into the half as Woodward scored on a deflection in front at 15:30 and Smith notched her second of the game at 30:32 with a five-yard shot through traffic.
Just 2:02 into the second half, O'Connor made it a 3-2 game. She carried the ball into the circle from midfield, made a spin move and deposited a shot inside the right post. With 5:30 remaining in regulation, O'Connor sent the game into overtime with a reverse-stick shot through traffic. In the closing minutes, Cortland carried play and appeared to score what would have been the game-winner by Woodward with 3:30 left, but the officials waved off the goal on the basis that the ball did not exit the circle before being brought back in on a penalty corner.
Cortland dominated play in the first overtime and had a chance to earn the win with 8:48 remaining on a penalty stroke. Little, however, made a diving save on Smith's attempt at the left post. With 7:30 remaining, Smith again nearly ended the game but hit the left post from the left side with a lifted shot. In the second overtime, Cortland junior
Karly Vdoviak (Johnstown) sent a shot just wide of the left post with seven minutes remaining, and DeWaters made a defensive save on Cappella with 4:55 on the clock.
In the five-player shootout, the Herons scored on their first three attempts, while Cortland failed on its three tries, eliminating the need for the final two shooters to take their attempts.
William Smith 4, Cortland 3 (SO)
Scoring Summary (Goals-Assists):
William Smith: Melanie O'Connor 2-0, Taylor Cappello 1-0, Team 1-0, Caitlin Moran 0-1
Cortland:
Erin Smith 2-0,
Sara Woodward 1-0, Abbey Wentlent 0-2,
Katie Barbagallo 0-1
Halftime: Cortland 3, William Smith 1
End of Regulation: Cortland 3, William Smith 3
Shots: Cortland 27, William Smith 23
Penalty Corners: Cortland 17, William Smith 13
Saves: Catherine Hare (William Smith) 2 (3 GA in 35:00), Taryn Little (William Smith) 8 (0 GA in 65:00);
Amanda Perricone (Cortland) 9 (3 GA in 100:00)
Record after game: William Smith (Herons) 11-1 (ranked 10th nationally in Div. III); Cortland (Red Dragons) 6-5
