Box Score SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.-- There's no place like home for the Skidmore field hockey team after a 3-2 Liberty League win over 7th ranked William Smith College, Saturday at Wagner Park.
 
The win clinches the regular season league title for the 17th ranked Thoroughbreds (13-3, 5-1 Liberty) who are 62-8 overall and 29-3 against Liberty League teams at home since beginning play at Wagner Park in 2006. 
 
After closing the regular season with a pair of non-league games against Hartwick and Stevens Tech, the Thoroughbreds will host Vassar College in a Liberty League semifinal on Nov. 6. William Smith (12-3, 4-2) will travel to Rochester for the other semifinal. The highest remaining seed will host the championship game on Nov. 9. 
 
Skidmore took a 2-0 first half lead on a pair of Dani DeGregory goals.  The first goal came at 6:19 when Kelly Blackhurst drew several Heron defenders after receiving a corner and then directed a pass to an open DeGregory who fired it home to make it 1-0.  DeGregory scored her 15th of the season at 29:57 off a tip-in of a shot by Sam Revera.
 
William Smith battled back to within late in the half, when Julia Simmons deflected a shot from Alessandra Patrizio for her eight of the season at 34:35.
 
The teams traded chances in the second half with both defenses coming up big. Thoroughbred defender Jenn Hanks had a clutch defensive save off a Cydney Conley shot at 42:45.
 
Hanks contributed on the offensive end when she rifled a shot through from the top of the circle off a corner from Becca Halter and Melanie Webb for a 3-1 lead at 63:11.
 
William Smith wasn't done.  The Herons pressured the Thoroughbred defense and got to within one on Taylor Cappello's 11th goal of the season from Margaret McConnell at 68:18. William Smith pulled goalie Amy Feda for an extra attacker right after the restart and had two penalty corners and a quality shot by Sarah Thompson that was denied by Skidmore goalie Haley McDougall as time expired.
 
The Herons had a 16-13 edge in shots and 11-8 penalty corner advantage.  McDougall had eight saves for Skidmore, while Feda stopped five shots.
 
The Thoroughbreds travel to Hartwick on Oct. 30 and close out the regular season at home Nov. 2 at 2 p.m. against Stevens Tech.