Courtesy of RITAthletics.com
ROCHESTER, NY — In a hard-fought battle between the top two defensive teams in the Liberty League, the RIT (6-2-1, 0-1-1 Liberty League) women’s soccer team was defeated 1-0 by No. 6 William Smith College (7-1-0, 2-0-0 Liberty League) from warm, breezy Tiger Stadium Wednesday afternoon.
Shots were 11-3 in favor of the Herons. RIT fired one shot on net, to six for William Smith. Each team took two corner kicks. Kelly Rogers (Ardmore, PA/Haverford) took the loss in net for the Tigers, making five saves. Veronica Romines got the win for the Herons, making one stop.
RIT was lively the first 10 minutes of the game. The Tigers were on the front foot, controlling the play in the early going. Mia White (Littleton, CO/Rocky Mountain Deaf School) played Emily Thiel (Seattle, WA/Roosevelt) with a through-ball that had Thiel in 1-on-1 with Romines. Unforttunately for the Tigers, Thiel was marginally offside on the play. Sarah Olick-Sutphen had William Smith’s first shot on target in the 24th minute, but Rogers was well-positioned for the save.
In the 30th minute Evie Manning had a chance, but her shot from a sharp angle was saved easily by Rogers. Olick-Sutphen had a chance in the 33rd minute when she found herself alone in the RIT penalty area. Rogers again came up big for RIT, making the save to keep it scoreless at halftime.
RIT had its best scoring chance in the 67th minute off a corner kick. Elena Wolfe (Parsippany, NJ/Parsippany) sent a well-struck service into the Herons area. Riley Yankowich (Deerfield Beach, FL/Germantown Academy) ran onto the ball and got a decent header that just missed the William Smith post.
In the 71st minute William Smith broke through with the winning goal. Merilyn Hinrichs sent a pass to Julia Keogh in the RIT box. Keogh sent a shot that Rogers got a piece of, but caromed into the corner of the net for a 1-0 Herons lead.
Looking to recreate the late game they had last Saturday, RIT had a chance in the 89th minute when Katherine Campbell fired a shot off a loose ball inside the William Smith area. Her shot from 18 yards out was corralled by Romines.
The Tigers return to action on Saturday, Sept. 30 when they face Clarkson University at 1:30 p.m. in Potsdam, N.Y.
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