GENEVA, N.Y. - Sophomore Maddie Greco scored the game-winning goal 7:49 into the first overtime period to give the Union College field hockey team a big 3-2 (OT) victory over William Smith College on Saturday afternoon at McCooey Field.
 
Greco was one of three goal scorers on the day for Union (8-4, 2-1 Liberty League), joined by classmates Amy Vytopilova and Reese Fendelet. Junior Sophie Brady also had a massive day in goal for the Garnet Chargers, making a career-high 12 saves to preserve her 20th career victory, moving her into a tie for fourth place on the school's career wins list.
 
Fendelet also played a role in the game-winning tally as well as scoring once, as her initial shot in overtime was saved by WSC goalie Baker Jeremiah but Greco was there to put away the rebound to win the game for the visitors. The game-winner is Greco's third of the season and sixth of her young career.
 
After managing only four shots over the opening 60 minutes, Union went on the offensive during seven-on-seven play, taking six shots and putting all of them on goal, forcing Jeremiah to make five saves before the sixth one got by for the game-winner.
 
William Smith (5-8, 1-2 Liberty League) came out of the gates hot, earning three penalty corners and taking two shots in the opening 90 seconds. However, one stop by Brady and a defensive save by junior Kat Bruun kept the Herons off the board early. The Garnet Chargers quickly settled in and earned the first goal of the game in the sixth minute, when a blocked shot by junior Megan Dorsey found Vytopilova to put away her second collegiate tally. Union doubled its lead in the late stages of the opening frame on Fendelet's fifth goal of the season, assisted by classmate Rachel Ostiguy. The Union defense did not allow a shot after the early William Smith wave and went into the second with a two-goal edge.
 
William Smith went on the attack again in the second stanza, taking the period's only seven shots. However, Brady was up to the task, stopping all six on-target attempts to keep the Union lead at two headed into halftime.
 
The Herons scored once in each of the final two frames to even the score and send the game to overtime. Eliza Freeland made it a one-goal game 2:39 into the third period, and an early surge to start the fourth eventually resulted in a Caroline Kogut goal with 9:34 remaining in regulation.
 
William Smith finished the game with an 18-10 edge in shots and a 14-4 advantage in penalty corners. But Brady's 12 saves, the most by a Union goalie in a win since Heather Poisson '21 stopped 12 shots in a 3-2 win over Utica on October 28, 2017, helped the Garnet Chargers emerge with the victory.
 
Union will be back in action on Wednesday with a non-conference game at Utica University beginning at 4 p.m.