NORTHAMPTON, MA – Julia Collado (Whitehouse Station, NJ/Hunterdon) slotted a ball through the middle to Tanner Reed (Unadilla, NY/Unatego Central) with a little over a minute to go in Saturday's early afternoon game between Hartwick and Smith, and Reed held off two defenders before striking the ball low and hard past the keeper into the back of the net at 88:48 to give the Hawks a 2-1 lead with little time remaining. The goal was Reed's second of the season, both game winners, and lifted the Hawks to 4-2 on the year. The Pioneers dropped to 2-3-1, with all three losses coming in one goal games.
Hartwick came out firing to start the game, registering the day's first four shots in under seven minutes of play. Shannon Lauko (Baldwinsville, NY/C.W. Baker) had the first attempt, blocked at 3:03, and was followed up by a Maggie Rogers (Wharton, NJ/Morris Hills) try that went wide fifteen seconds later. Courtney Velho (Derry, NH/Pinkerton Academy) and Gabrielle Kreppein (Glens Falls, NY/South Glens Falls) each forced saves from Smith keeper Naomi Falkenberg at 4:30 and 6:46, respectively. After the Pioneers first shot was blocked, Samantha Ford (Acton, MA/Acton Boxborough Regional) kept Falkenberg busy, as the last line of defense stopped another one.
A corner from Smith's Reilly Sullivan at 14:07 led to Cassandra Robataille's (Amsterdam, NY/Amsterdam) first save of the day, off the leg of Peyton McBride at 14:19. The Hawks had a corner not long after, taken by Katie Weaver (Baldwinsville, NY/C.W. Baker) at in the 17th minute. Shots by Reed (saved), Lauko (saved), and Kreppein (blocked) followed over the next two minutes. Kreppein had two more shots in the 24th and 25th minutes, but both were saved by Falkenberg. Smith had the next three shots; the first two came from Natalie Dionne at 25:55 and McBride at 27:48, both of which sailed wide. Jessica Matsuoka's attempt was saved by Robataille two seconds before the 30-minute mark. Kreppein had yet another shot at 31:17, sending one wide of the net. Nicole Conway (Chester, NY/Monroe-Woodbury) had 'Wick's final shot of the first half, as her try was blocked at 34:46. McBride had the last attempt for either team in the initial 45 minutes when her shot was saved by Robataille at 38:01. The teams went into the half locked in a scoreless tie.
The Hawks again came out hot to begin the second half, starting with Zoe Capanna's (Los Angeles, CA/Palisades Charter) shot on new keeper Noemi Howland just over two minutes in. Velho had the next try for Hartwick at 50:15, but it was Collado who broke through with the first score of the game at 55:04. Rogers made a long throw which Collado corralled and then spun and curled the ball off the far post and in. After another Velho shot went high at 57:11, Smith had the next four attempts, and the Hawks needed three saves from Robataille in the 62nd through 64th minutes. Hartwick responded with five shots from 71:58 to 79:50. Velho had the first, stopped by Howland, and was followed by Reed, Rogers, and Lauko shots that went wide. 41 seconds after a Weaver corner at 79:09, Velho forced another Howland save.
The Pioneers were not deterred, however as they leveled the game at 83:54 on a McBride goal, assisted by Katie Selenius. The Hawks mistimed a tackle, which freed up McBride to rip one off the crossbar and in, knotting the score at one. After Lauko's shot at 85:05 was saved by Howland, Reed broke through the Smith back end off a Collado pass to fire what would become the final shot of the game into the back of the net with just 1:12 remaining, giving the road team a big win.
Kreppein and Velho each led Hartwick with five shots, with three and four on goal, respectively. Velho's mark is a career-high for the junior back. Lauko contributed with four shots, and Reed (three) and Rogers (two) were the other Hawks with multiple shots on the day. Robataille had a fairly busy time in net, making a season-high seven saves en route to her fourth win of the year.
McBride was far and away the most impactful Pioneer, tallying six shots, four on net and one in net. Etienne Oliver was the only other Smith player to have multiple attempts, with two. Falkenberg and Howland combined for twelve saves; Falkenberg made seven stops with no goals allowed in the first half, while Howland had five saves and two let through in the second.
Hartwick had a sizeable 23-14 shot advantage, as well as a 14-8 lead in shots on net. Both are season highs for the squad. Each team took three corners, and Smith committed seven fouls to 'Wick's five.
The Hawks open up conference play next, hosting St. John Fisher for each team's Empire 8 opener on Saturday, September 21 at 2 p.m.
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