ROCHESTER, NY- The University of Rochester women's field hockey fell 2-1 in a close match to the #16 ranked William Smith Herons Saturday night at Fauver Stadium.

Much of the first half was played in the midfield, with limited chances on both ends from excellent defensive play.  The Herons ( 13-3, 5-1 LL) got on the board first with a flip shot up high in the air by Kiersten Hamilton off of a penalty corner.  The shot was perfectly placed just over the reach of Yellowjacket goalie Madison Wagner.

The lead would then double to 2-0 in favor of the Herons three minutes into the second half when Taylor Cappello got loose and ran past a defender for a breakaway goal past Wagner who stacked her pads to no avail.

Rochester (11-6, 2-4 LL) fought back and got a goal of its own three minutes later when Alexis Vangellow tapped in a loose ball in front that was batted to her from Anna Dobrzynski.

The Yellowjackets nearly tied up the score two minutes later when Shelby Hall got on a breakaway but was stopped by William Smith goalie Catherine Hare.  Later, Vangellow nearly got her second goal of the game when her shot from the top of the circle missed the net just wide left.

The last Rochester chance came with just under 17 minutes remaining when Belle Hoagland had a point blank chance in front of the Heron net, but again Hare held strong and turned back the chance.

In the goals, Wagner made eight stops for UR and Hare made five for William Smith.

Rochester falls to 2-4 in the Liberty League and into a three-way tie with St. Lawrence and Vassar for the fourth and final playoff spot.  Based on league tiebreaker St. Lawrence will be the fourth team into the playoffs.

Rochester next plays in a non-league match at home against Houghton College on Wednesday at 6 pm.

Box Score