Mary Walsh scored on a breakaway with 1:57 to play to give the women's soccer team a thrilling 1-0 victory over Emory University at Fauver Stadium on Friday evening.
With the victory, the Yellowjackets improved to 13-1-2 overall, 4-0-1 in the University Athletic Association. Rochester has 13 points in the UAA race. Chicago moved into second place in the standings with a 2-0 win at NYU. The Maroons have 10 points. Carnegie, which lost, 1-0 at Case Reserve, and Emory have nine points apiece.
The gamewinning goal came less than a minute after the Eagles were denied a chance to take the lead thanks to an excellent save by Molly Leitch.
Emory was awarded a free kick 25 yards from goal. Jessie Dean struck the ball over the wall and it dipped just before the crossbar. Leitch was able to punch it out just before Emory's Lauren Hudak and Ashley VanVechten collided with her as both players charged into the goalmouth.
The Yellowjacket defense cleared the ball and pushed it out to Kristin Leskow on right wing. She dribbled over midfield, then angled a pass to Walsh who was stride for stride with an Emory defender.
Walsh collected the ball and got a step ahead of the defender. She shook off a challenge 10 yards outside the box, then raced in and lined the gamewinner into the lower left hand corner from 18 yards as Emory goalkeeper Amy Franciscovich charged off the line.
It was the 10th goal of the season for Walsh, her sixth gamewinning goal.
Leitch and Adrianne Hulchanski each made one save (Hulchanski in the first half, Leitch in the second half) to post their seventh consecutive shutout and 11th blanking in the last 12 games.
Franciscovich made five saves for the Eagles. Emory, ranked #20 in the current NSCAA Division III poll, is 10-2-2 overall, 3-2 in the UAA.
