CORTLAND, NY – It was an impressive showing from the University of Rochester field hockey team on Wednesday evening, posting a 4-1 road victory at SUNY Cortland.  Wednesday's matchup was a top-20 showdown in Division III with #16-ranked Cortland hosting #12-ranked Rochester.
 
The Yellowjackets (2-0), got a late first half goal, then applied pressure early and often in the second half, eventually building a 4-0 lead on the way to the victory.
 
Four different players scored for Rochester, with Colleen Maille, Maya Haigis, Nancy Bansbach and Nikki Mercer recording goals.  In the cage, Kate Kujawa was terrific, saving a career-high nine shots.
 
Visiting UR controlled the opening minutes, earning three corners and taking three shots in the first five and half minutes of the contest.
 
Cortland was held without a shot until the 13th minute and earned its first corner at the 15 minute mark.  Those first attempts off Red Dragon sticks were not without drama though, as Kujawa was caught off the line, but senior Courtney Dunham was there to swipe the first attempt away for a defensive save.  The second shot trickled wide of the net.
 
Rochester was able to break through with just under eight minutes left in the half.  A long Lauren Sharpe side hit in found a streaking Maillie running to the right wing deep in the circle.  Maillie, a junior co-captain on UR, then blasted a low, hard shot which went through the five hole of Cortland goalkeeper Kailynne Reinoehl thanks to a strong screen from Jennifer Lee in front.
 
The Red Dragons (2-1) had been a strong second half team through their opening two games of the season, outscoring opponents 7-0 in the final 35 minutes.  In Wednesday's game, Cortland showed that strength coming out of intermission, earning two quick attempts in the opening three minutes that both provided decent scoring chances.
 

A Rochester timeout settled the team down and shifted momentum drastically in favor of the Yellowjackets.
 
The UR lead doubled at 41:53 when Maya Haigis ripped a skidding shot just inside the left post off a nifty behind-the-back pass from Maillie following a penalty corner.  The play originated with a pass to the deep center of the circle, got sent into Maillie who drew the Cortland defenders to her and left Haigis all alone along the left wing for the open shot.
 
Five minutes later, Rochester struck again.  On a delayed penalty corner call, Bansbach scooped up a loose ball pass from Lee and at a sharp angle along the right endline, lifted the ball passed Reinoehl for a 3-0 Yellowjacket lead.
 
Cortland looked to get on the board in the 55th minute, but Jess Gibaldi's shot, one which deflected high into the air and behind Kujawa, got swatted out of midair by UR's reigning All-American in Dunham for her second defensive save of the game.
 
Rochester's offense then responded with a strong play of their own, with Mercer connecting on a goal along the right endline, sneaking between the post and Reinoehl's pad.  Haigis recorded an assist on the play, sending a long pass from deep in the right corner.
 
With less than ten minutes on the clock, Cortland took back-to-back corners and earned five shots in the sequence, but was unable to score because of some excellent saves by Kujawa, including three point blank chances in a row.
 
The Red Dragons then spoiled the shutout in the 63rd minute when a top of the circle shot that was heading wide from Hannah Burchell deflected off a UR defender into the back of the cage.
 
In the waning seconds, Cortland looked like it was adding another goal, but Kate Tiffany made a stick save, swiping a shot off the line to preserve the 4-1 win.
 
Overall, Cortland outshot UR 17-15, but the Yellowjackets held the slim edge in corners, leading 10-9.
 
UR's next contest is slated for Saturday on the road at Houghton, before returning home for the teams home opener on Sunday against Utica.