Rochester dropped a hard-fought loss to William Smith on Wednesday evening by a score of 4-1. The Herons scored once in the first half and three more times in the second, while Rochester's goal came late in the second. Sophomore Kari Plewniak (Tonawanda, NY/Sweet Home) recorded her first goal of the season; her shot was assisted by junior Kristy Johnson (Silvan Beach, NY/Camden). Sophomore goalie Rachel Cahan (Evanston, IL/North Shore Country Day) faced 20 shots and made 11 saves.

The Herons struck first after just four minutes of play when senior Amy Kuzio (Clinton, NY/Clinton) pushed the ball to junior Liz Saucier (Old Town, ME/Old Town) off a penalty corner. Saucier tipped the ball into the left corner of the goal to put William Smith ahead 1-0. With 4:01 left in the half, Cahan ran out to the edge of the arc to kick away the ball from the attacking forward, who still managed to center it. Senior Tara Baker (Lee Center, NY/Rome Free Academy) took a shot which was stopped by junior , saving the 'Jackets from going down by two.

In the second half, William Smith continued to pressure the Rochester goal and scored three times in less than ten minutes. Junior Ashley Barker (Cape Elizabeth, ME/Cape Elizabeth) scored twice within four minutes and junior Sophie Dennis (Port Byron, NY/Dana L. West) set up Barker for her third goal to finish off the scoring frenzy just three minutes later. The Herons' second goal came with 15:34 left to play when freshman Charlotte Styer (Mohnton, PA/Governor Mifflin) took a hard shot that was deflected into the upper left corner by Barker. With 11:46 left in the game, Dennis passed the ball out to Barker, who rocketed a shot past Cahan to the lower left corner. The fourth goal was set up by Dennis. Her crisp pass wound up on Barker's stick and resulted in a hard shot that landed in the back left corner of the Rochester net.

The 'Jackets' ruined William Smith's shutout bid with 2:53 left in the game. Johnson got the ball at the top of the arc and passed it to Plewniak on the left side of the goal. The ball was a little ahead of her, so she dove and pushed the ball past senior Heron goalie Susan Jordan (Boothbay, ME/Boothbay) who came out to try to intercept Johnson's pass.

After today's loss, the Yellowjackets are now tied with Union for third place in the Liberty League. William Smith is ranked eighth in the nation and with their win tonight, the Herons have tied Skidmore for first place in the Liberty League.