In a game that was closer than the score indicated, the 12th ranked University of Rochester field hockey team came out with a 5-2 victory over visiting St. John Fisher College on Wednesday night.
 
The Yellowjackets push their school record start to the season to 11-0 while the Cardinals drop to 6-3, snapping a four game winning streak.
 
Team leading scorer Michelle Relin got the Yellowjackets on the board first, smashing in a hard shot off a penalty corner just 2:52 into the contest.  Belle Hoagland and Alexis Wood picked up assists on the play.
 
With five minutes remaining in the half, Rochester's Callie Fisher streaked into the circle and centered a cross towards the direction of Relin, but Fisher goalie Danielle Famolaro intercepted the pass, breaking up the scoring chance and sending UR to the break with only a one goal lead.
 
The visiting Cardinals started off the second half with a strong start, getting a great chance from an Emily Markarian breakaway, but her shot trickled just wide of the cage.
 

On the ensuing Yellowjacket possession, UR's Fisher then upped the lead to 2-0, tapping in a pass from the right wing by teammate Nicole Cerza.  The goal was Fisher's 6th of the season.
 
St. John Fisher's Caitlin Allen then had a great chance to get on the board, but her shot from six yards out on the left wing was saved away by a diving Tara Lamberti in the UR cage.
 
In the 44th minute, the Cardinals did cut the lead in half, making it 2-1 behind a goal from Marissa Vedella.  The SJFC senior slapped in a shot from eight yards in the center of the circle off a penalty corner pass from classmate Stacie Skidmore.
 
Rochester got that goal back though at 51:34 when freshman Olivia Denny tipped in a rocket shot from Relin off of a corner, notching her second goal of the season.
 
The Cardinals, fighting to get back in the game, then had back-to-back chances from Markarian and Elizabeth Cusack saved away by Lamberti in the 61st minute.  The junior finished the game with a season high 11 saves while her counterpart in goal, Famolaro, stopped seven shots in the loss.
 
Just over a minute later, Denny scored her second of the night in the exact same fashion as her first, tipping in a hard shot from the point from Relin, giving Rochester a 4-1 lead.
 
A resilient Fisher team responded though, scoring again with 5:45 to go in the game, when Cusack won a battle with Lamberti 10 yards off the line and slipped a shot into the open goal for her ninth of the season.
 
Relin would then cap the scoring in the games final minute, tipping in a long PC shot from senior Allison Resnick for her second of the game.  She would finish with a season high six points on the night.
 
For the game, UR held a 16-14 edge in shots and took two more corners (11-9) than the Cardinals.
 
Rochester now heads on a four game road trip which begins at SUNY Cortland on Saturday at 2 pm.