GENEVA, N.Y. – The Union College women's soccer team fell, 2-1, to #22 William Smith College Saturday afternoon at Cozzens Field.

Union (8-6-3, 3-3-2) sits in fifth place in the Liberty League standings—three points ahead of Ithaca College (5-5-4, 2-3-2) and one point behind St. Lawrence University (8-5-3, 4-3-0).

William Smith held an 11-8 advantage in shots and opened the game with strong offensive pressure. The Herons struck first less than five minutes in on their third attempt of the game, as Julia Acciology picked up her own rebound inside the 18-yard box and chipped a shot past Union goalkeeper Rachel Berliner for the 1-0 lead.

William Smith nearly doubled its lead in the 16th minute, but Berliner came up with a key save on Lily Pryzwansky's shot.

Union answered five minutes later, when senior Annabelle Thomas collected a pass from classmate Alayna Boileau and fired a shot into the upper-right corner to even the score at 1-1.

Both teams traded quality scoring chances through the remainder of the first half, including two shots from Boileau that were stopped by William Smith's goalkeeper Antonia Goerke, sending the teams into halftime tied.

In the second half, the Herons continued their offensive push and reclaimed the lead just two minutes in. Following a scramble inside the box off a corner kick, Miranda DeMura gained possession and ripped a shot into the back of the net to make it 2-1.

Union continued to press late, with Boileau nearly finding the equalizer in the 67th minute before Goerke made another key save. In the 86th minute, senior Vanessa Jorgensen hit the crossbar, and sophomore Julia Bancheri had a final chance in the closing seconds, but Goerke turned it aside to seal the 2-1 win for the Herons.

Berliner played the full 90 minutes for the Garnet Chargers, recording six saves.

Union concludes its regular season on Saturday, hosting St. Lawrence University in a crucial matchup at College Park Field. Kickoff is set for 2:00 p.m.