GENEVA, N.Y. – Despite a pair of goals in the second and fourth quarters, the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) field hockey team was edged by William Smith College, 3-2, in a Liberty League contest this afternoon at McCooey Field.

William Smith opened the scoring late in the first quarter, converting on a penalty corner in the 14th minute. Mia Batchelder netted her first goal of the season off a feed from Caroline Kogut to give the hosts a 1-0 lead. Just over four minutes into the second quarter, Ana Dios Vidal doubled the Herons' advantage, making it 2-0 in the 19th minute.

RPI responded before halftime when Emily Dubord found the back of the cage off a penalty corner in the 30th minute. Grace Johnson recorded the assist on the play, narrowing the margin to 2-1. However, William Smith answered less than two minutes later, regaining its two-goal cushion when Lily Gutch converted another penalty opportunity.

The Engineers continued to press in the second half, earning nine penalty corners in total, including five in the third quarter alone. RPI pulled one back in the fourth quarter when Sophia Brown scored off a setup from Ella Pasquarelli at 48:16, trimming the deficit to 3-2. The Engineers fired three shots in the final 10 minutes, including two on target, but William Smith goalkeeper Olivia Terranova made two key saves to preserve the lead.

RPI held a slight edge in total shots (10-9), while each team registred seven attempts on goal. Terranova recorded five saves in goal in the win for the Herons, while RPI goalkeeper Tess Garchinsky finished with four stops.

The Engineers will finish the weekend with a 12:00 pm home meeting against Rochester on Sunday.