Shelby Hall's goal midway through the first period gave UR a 1-0 lead, and the 'Jackets were able to hold off Houghton College for its eighth win of the season at Fauver Stadium on Wednesday night. It was the only time this season UR has won a game when it scored just one goal.
Hall notched her 11th score of the season in the 17th minute when she put the ball in the back of the goal off a pass from Anna Dobrzynski. The ball was originally played into the crease by Allison Beardsley, whose pass was batted around before it reached Dobrzynski.
The goal was Hall's sixth in the last three games.
It was the second scoring attempt for Hall in the early goings of the match. In the 10th minute, Dobrzynski played a ball to a streaking Hall on the left side of the goal. Her ensuing backhand shot from five yards out went just wide.
With the win, UR improves to 8-9, extending its winning streak to three. Meanwhile, Houghton falls to 6-9 with just one game remaining in its season.
On Wednesday night, the Yellowjacket defense held Houghton without a shot for the first 19 minutes of play, but the Highlanders finished the half with six shots and attempted four penalty corners. With just over six minutes left, the Highlanders almost evened the score, when Ashley Engle's cross got past UR goalie Madison Wagner, but was just out of reach of Rachel Stefanski, who made a run on the left side of the goal.
Houghton attempted to mount a comeback in the second, holding UR to only two shots through the final 35 minutes. Meanwhile, the Highlanders had already attempted four shots and strung together a couple scoring opportunities before UR decided to call a timeout with 18:25 left to talk it over.
But Houghton didn't back down – with 15 minutes left, the Highlanders had their best opportunities to even the score. Maesa Phongsamouth took three consecutive shots, all saved by Wagner, before a shot by Stefanski was saved off the line by Darragh Kerr – her 11th defensive save of the season – and cleared away from the UR goal.
Wagner finished the game with seven saves, recording just her second shutout of the season. Highlander goalie Hillery Duman had six saves.
UR has just two games left in its regular season, capping its season at Fauver Stadium this weekend in a Saturday afternoon game against SUNY Brockport.
