Josh Cooley headed home a cross from Mitch Volis with 19 seconds to play in the second sudden death overtime to give Rochester a 1-0 victory over RPI at Edwin Fauver Stadium on Friday night. The Cooley goal ended a game that saw both teams come close, but unable to put it in the back of the net until the final seconds.
 
Rochester (1-0) is ranked #9 in the pre-season Division III Coaches' Poll. The Yellowjackets reached the Elite 8 of the Division III playoffs last year. They are one of four University Athletic Association teams in the Top 10. RPI (0-1) was 8-6-2 a year ago.
 
The Engineers got five saves from Matt LaBranche, many of them denying Rochester the chance to break the deadlock. He denied UR's Patrice Douge twice in the first overtime. One minute in, Douge cut in from the right and fired. LaBranche went down to block it and the rebound popped in the air with him prone and the net yawning. Aidan Miller's try at the rebound sailed harmlessly over the bar. With 2:30 left in the first OT, UR's Bryce Ikeda threw the ball from the right touchline to a spot just outside the crease. Douge's near-post header was parried by LaBranche for a corner kick.
 
RPI turned away Rochester twice in the last two minutes of the second OT. Douge and Cooley were both denied close-in chances. The Engineer defenders Bonnke Sekarore, Joe DiMiceli, and Dillon Ashong were expert at keeping balls out of the middle.
 
The gamewinner came as the Yellowjackets made a final push with the clock below one minute. A scrum in the center of the box was cleared to the 40-yard line. The ball was passed from there to Volis along the right touchline. He lofted a cross to the edge of the penalty area where Cooley was able to jump and head it strongly into the back of the net as LaBranche charged.

 
RPI's best work offensively came from set pieces. Four minutes in, DiMiceli's corner kick was headed on goal by Danny Corriodan but UR goalie Patrick Conway (five saves) made a good stop. With four minutes left in the first half, DiMiceli's free kick along the left touchline centered into the box where Brandon Pirog headed it into the crossbar.
 
Rochester made its way through the run of play with Volis setting up a couple of good chances in the first eight minutes. With less than 18 minutes left in the first half, Volis was there again, weaving his way through two defenders and shooting, only to have LaBranche punch-save.
 
UR's Bryce Ikeda was in the middle of three good scoring chances at the start of the second period. He threw the ball from the left touchline into the middle just two minutes after the restart. Cristian Baltier headed it into the underside of the bar and the red-shirts on defense cleared it away. Volis was there again 90 seconds later. He drove a pass from left wing ticketed for Nik Angyal at the near post. His shot on the turn screamed across the face of goal. Thirteen minutes in, Ikeda started a nice three-man passing combination, sending the ball to Angyal down the right side. He played it into the middle but Miller headed it wide left.
 
Both teams are off until Sunday. Rochester will play at St. John Fisher. RPI goes to Nazareth.