FAUVER STADIUM – Visiting St. John Fisher College picked up a 2-1 win over the 9th-ranked University of Rochester field hockey team on Tuesday evening at Fauver Stadium.
 
The loss is UR's first of the season, dropping the Yellowjackets to 10-1 on the year while St. John Fisher stays hot, winning its eighth straight contest and improves to 9-2.  The win is the first for the Cardinals over Rochester in the six year history of the program.
 
Rochester supplied the first good scoring chance of the contest, nearly finding the back of the net at the 9:39 mark.  UR's Olivia Denny slipped a shot past Fisher goalie Ashley Maynard, but defender Alexandrea Malley was there to sweep the ball off the line, keeping the game scoreless.
 

St. John Fisher's first opportunity came at the 15 minute mark when they earned their first penalty corner.  On the play, the Cardinals Emily Markarian had a clean look from the top of the circle, but her blast sailed wide of the net.
 
With about five minutes left in the first half, UR's Jennifer Lee had two excellent chances in tight at the Fisher goal, but Maynard stood her ground on back-to-back attempts, making two huge saves.
 
At the break, the game was tied 0-0 with Rochester holding a 9-2 edge in shots.
 
The Yellowjackets would then open the scoring just over three minutes into the second half.  Claire Dickerson picked up her sixth goal of the season, deflecting in a long pass up field from teammate Alexis Wood.
 
St. John Fisher's Nickole Morgan hit the post at the 42:51 mark after a penalty corner, nearly getting the Cardinals their first goal of the game.
 
Less than 90 seconds later, Fisher did get on the board when Kelly Bergamo snuck a shot into the low left corner of the cage after a failed clear attempt by the Yellowjacket defense.
 
The Cardinals would then capitalize on their next scoring chance, coming at 55:31, taking a 2-1 lead.  After a penalty corner, Lauren Fazio executed a give-and-go off the insert and then crossed the ball in front of the goal to teammate Emily Markarian for a tap in at the right post.  It was Markarian's Cardinal leading ninth goal of the year.
 
Rochester nearly evened the score two minutes later, when a two Yellowjacket penalty corners led to three shots, two of which were off the stick of UR's leading scorer Callie Fisher.  Maynard again came up big, making the point blank saves.
 
In the final minute of the game, the Yellowjackets really applied pressure, looking for the equalizer.  Rochester earned four corners in the final minute, including two with no time left on the clock, but could not get a tally, giving the Cardinals the victory.  Maynard again made three big saves in the flurry to preserve the win.
 
In the goals, Maynard made 10 saves for the Cardinals while Gabrielle Cantley and Kiran Sundaram each played a half for UR.  Cantley was not forced to make a save while Sundaram made one stop.

The Yellowjackets next contest is a Liberty League clash at Vassar College on Saturday at 1 pm.