PLATTSBURGH, NY - #5 William Smith College used three second-half goals to distance themselves and defeat Plattsburgh State women's soccer 6-2 on Sunday afternoon. The United Soccer Coaches (USC) fifth-ranked team in Division III women's soccer tallied six goals, matching their second-highest total of the season, but Plattsburgh also matched the most goals the Herons have surrendered in a game this year with two scores. The only other occurrences came against teams ranked #15 and #17 at the time of those games. 

The Cardinals drop their overall record to 7-5-1 overall, as the loss snaps a three-game losing streak for the team, William Smith extends a five-game winning streak and a nine-game unbeaten streak with their win today, as they move to 9-1-2 overall. 

Despite what the final score may indicate, Plattsburgh State hung around with one of the country's top teams and offenses. After Julia Dimenna scored twice in the opening 20 minutes, the Cardinals had their answer in the 29th minute. Earning their first corner kick of the game, Allison Seidman (Commack, NY/Commack) took the kick and found graduate student Sam Spear (Peru, NY/Peru) among the players in the box for Spear's second goal of the year.

William Smith responded as the clock ran down, scoring once more in the 43rd minute. Plattsburgh once again had a response, and once again utilized a corner kick, but in an untraditional fashion. After the corner was cleared out of the box, Kayla Myers (Plattsburgh, NY/Saranac) passed over to Zoe Rice (Leicester, MA/Leicester) who had just taken the corner and was well outside the box. Rice then ripped the shot, a good 30-plus yards away from the goal, and netted the shot, the first score of her collegiate career with less than 50 seconds left in the half.

Overall in the first half, William Smith outshot Plattsburgh just 8-6 and each team earned two corners, with both corners resulting in goals for the Cards. 

The second half was a different story than the first, however, as William Smith built a 6-2 lead in rather quick fashion, scoring thrice within the first 20 minutes of the start of the second period. The Herons were able to generate several opportunities offensively, putting 11 shots up and keeping Lauren Haley (LaGrange, NY/Arlington) on her toes and tested throughout the 45-minute period. Haley picked up just her second loss of the year in goal, as she saw 13 shots and made seven saves over the 90 minutes of action. 

Plattsburgh will have two days off before they travel to Oneonta for a 4 p.m. game on the road on Wednesday, Oct. 12. Oneonta currently sits in last place in the conference standings with just one point, while Plattsburgh is in a three-way tie for the fifth spot with seven points.