Both teams made key defensive plays in the second half and in overtime as the University of Rochester and William Smith College battled to a 0-0 double overtime tie at Edwin Fauver Stadium.
Rochester, ranked No. 25 in the current Division III poll, is 3-1-2 overall. William Smith, which climbed to No. 8 this week, is 4-1-1. In the 36 games between these two rivals, six have ended in a tie.
William Smith goalkeeper Amanda Davis made six saves in 110 minutes. Rochester's Celeste Hornbach made one save. It is her second straight shutout against a nationally ranked team. She blanked then-11th-ranked Union College, 2-0, last Saturday.
Davis anticipated a couple of runs by Rochester striker Ellen Coleman. She charged off the line twice in a seven minute span early in the second half to thwart Coleman running onto a lead pass.
Her most difficult save came with 1:30 left in the second overtime. Coleman outpaced a defender on the right flank, cut to the endline and ran at goal. Three yards off the endline, she unleashed a curling shot that dipped towards the net. Davis palmed it across the face of the goal to preserve the 0-0 tie.
Rochester produced a big save as well – this one from midfielder Kirsten Ross. William Smith's Leslie Carrese ran on to a long ball from midfield. The Yellowjacket defense cleared it for a corner kick with just over 10 minutes left in the second half. The ball was played to Deana Melnyczuk at the far (right) post. She headed the ball to the left corner, past Hornbach who had crept out to the crease. Ross was positioned on the left post and headed the shot away.
