Visiting William Smith College used two late goals to push past the University of Rochester 3-2 in the semifinals of the Liberty League Field Hockey Tournament on Wednesday evening at Fauver Stadium.
 
Rochester (15-5) entered the game as the tournament's top-seed, but fell in the semifinals to the Herons (11-7) for the second straight year.  It is the third straight victory in the conference tournament for the Herons over Rochester with William Smith topping UR in the Liberty League title game in 2012.
 
William Smith now moves on to face Skidmore on Saturday to decide the conference's automatic qualifier into the NCAA Division III Tournament.
 
Freshman Hannah Wood scored twice for the Herons, including netting the game-winner with just under seven minutes to go in the contest.  She leads William Smith with 22 goals this season.  Alessandra Patrizio recorded the other goal for the visitors.
 
Rochester got goals from junior Michelle Relin and senior Megan Keil in the loss.  Belle Hoagland assisted on both goals for UR.
 
The visiting Herons were able to muster the first good chance of the contest at 10:12 when Patrizio entered the circle and got a shot on goal, but she was tripped up right as she struck the ball, making it an easy save for UR keeper Tara Lamberti.
 
Relin earned a great opportunity to score in the 18th minute, but her hard shot of a penalty corner was saved by Heron keeper Catherine Hare.  Hare then did a nice job sweeping away the rebound which sat right in front of the goal where a UR player was waiting.  For the game, Hare made five saves in the cage.
 
 

Wood would then get the Herons on the board at 25:15.  Her initial shot off a corner was blocked but the defense, but the ball went right back to the freshman who cracked a shot into the low left corner for the 1-0 lead.
 
The Heron defense impressed early on, disrupting many of the passing lanes, breaking up many of Rochester's fast break opportunities.  At the break, William Smith held a 10-7 shot edge.
 
Early in the second half, it was Lamberti and the UR backline defenders of Tiffany White, Kathryn Montgomery and Allison Resnick that kept the Yellowjackets only down one.  Lamberti made a number of strong saves, including a diving stop of Wood in the 41st minute and breaking up a 2-on-1 from the Herons three minutes later.  The junior keeper finished with 12 saves on the night while the other defenders did a great job of disrupting the offensive flow of the Herons.
 
In the 55th minute, Rochester was able to break through when Relin blasted a shot that snuck just inside the right post off a penalty corner.  Hoagland would take the inserted pass and dish it over to Relin who took one dribble around a defender before firing the shot.
 
Six minutes later, William Smith would regain the lead when Patrizio baited Lamberti off the line and snuck a ball past the defense for her fifth score of the year.  A little over 90 seconds later, Wood would net her second of the night when she received a ball in close to the cage and slapped a low shot past Lamberti as she was falling to the ground, making the score 3-1.
 
With under five minutes on the clock, the Yellowjackets showed they wouldn't go away, scoring off another penalty corner.  Megan Keil took a shot from the left wing that was tipped high in the air off a Heron defender into the top right corner of the cage.  Hoagland and White assisted on the play.
 
In the final moments, UR applied pressure and earned possession in the Heron circle, but time ran out before the 'Jackets could get a shot away.
 
Overall, William Smith held a 22-12 shot advantage while UR took eight corners to the Herons' seven.