GENEVA, NY – No. 5-seeded University of Rochester field hockey fell to the 4th-ranked William Smith College Herons, 1-0, on Tuesday evening in overtime in the first round of the Liberty League Tournament.
 
After falling to the Herons, 1-0, in double overtime in their regular-season finale, the 'Jackets couldn't prevail in the rematch, with the Herons eking out the overtime victory on Lily Gutch's 63rd-minute score just under three minutes into the overtime period.
 
William Smith outshot Rochester for the contest, 20-8 and 11-4 on goal, but Kara Houston turned in another stellar performance between the pipes, notching double-digit saves for the third-straight game and the sixth time this season.
 
The Herons would put pressure on Houston and the 'Jacket defense early, forcing Houston to make her first save of the contest less than a minute in on a shot across the face of goal by Rebecca Mantione. But Houston came up with her first of 10 saves, keeping William Smith off the board.
 
Houston made another stop midway through the first quarter on Mia Batchelder's eighth-minute attempt, sandwiched in between a pair of blocked shots, before the Herons earned their first corner of the evening with just shy of seven minutes left in the first.
 
The 'Jackets would finally break through the Herons' pressure over the final five minutes of the first, with Anya Arseneau notching URochester's first shot of the contest, ripping a shot from the right wing towards goal that sailed just wide.
 
Rochester then put a pair of shots on goal to start the second period, as Sophia Marcotte took a long pass through the midfield up towards the circle and bounced a shot at Olivia Terranova in goal. While after the 'Jackets earned their first penalty corner of the evening, Cassidy Romano flicked Abby Mateer's pass towards goal, but Terranova was again there for the stop.
 
Just past the 26-minute mark, William Smith would earn a penalty stroke, following a 26th-minute corner taken by Lily Gutch, but Houston made a diving stop on Hadley Harbert's attempt to keep the gam scoreless, and then stopped another shot from Mantione before the two sides headed into the locker room still scoreless.
 
In the third, the Herons amped up the pressure early, with a trio of shots on goal over the first four minutes of the period. Ana Dios Vidal forced the first of three Houston saves over the stretch, while Houston picked up another, sliding to make the save on Caroline Kogut's attempt after William Smith earned a corner.
 
Houston notched another save just minutes later in the 34th minute on another shot from Mantione off another Heron corner, keeping the graduate student's shot from getting through her legs.
 
The 'Jackets earned a corner of their own, one of just four in the contest for URochester, just shy of the 36-minute mark, by Mateer's shot was blocked, and the Herons took things the other way.
 
Rochester's offense would start to find its rhythm in the fourth, earning an early corner and then putting the pressure on Terranova and the Herons after a yellow card put William Smith down a player for five of the final six-plus minutes of the fourth.
 
Erin Foley put a shot on goal in the 54th minute, as, up a player, the 'Jackets looked to put the pressure on. But the 'Jackets couldn't find the back of the net, and after two more Houston saves late in the fourth, URochester and William Smith headed to overtime.
 
Just over a minute-and-a-half into OT, Rochester earned a corner and had a chance to win it. But Terranova kicked away Mateer's shot, and Foley's attempt on the rebound was blocked.
 
The Herons would then take things the other way, and less than three ticks into overtime, found the back of the net for the game-winner. Matinone found some space on the near side and fired a pass into Gutch, whose tip-in found paydirt, giving the Herons a 1-0 victory.
 
Individually, Foley and Mateer each led UR with two shots, while Batchelder, Dios Vidal and Mantione each had four for the Herons.
 
With the win, the No. 4-seeded Herons move to 12-8 on the year and advance to the Liberty League Tournament Semifinals, where they'll face No. 1-seeded Vassar on Friday, Nov. 7. While the 'Jackets wrap up their season at 13-7, their 18th-straight 10+ win season under Head Coach Wendy Andreatta.