PITTSBURGH, PA – 9th-ranked Carnegie Mellon University scored a goal late in the first half and made it stand up in a 1-0 victory over the University of Rochester women's soccer team on Sunday afternoon at the CMU Soccer Field.
 
Rochester, playing its second top-10 opponent this weekend, falls to 7-3-5 (2-2-2 UAA) on the season, with Carnegie Mellon improving to 12-1-2 overall (5-0-1 UAA). The CMU win sets up a winner-take-all matchup with #4 CWRU next Saturday for the UAA conference title. Rochester drew even with CWRU on Friday night, 2-2.
 
On Sunday, Carnegie Mellon's goal came in the 44th minute directly off a corner kick. The score came from Alana Frederick, as she curled her shot from left corner into the net at the back post, just over the reach of UR keeper Gabby Sabatier.
 
Rochester, meanwhile, had three shot attempts in the opening half.
 
At the 20:55 mark, Claire Grover gained possession in traffic and took a shot from inside the box, but mishit the ball and saw her shot trickle away just wide of the net.
 
In the 35th minute, Emma Cohen took a shot from 30 yards out, looking for a teammate in front, but no Yellowjackets were there and Tartan goalie Olivia Brand scooped up the shot for her lone save of the game.
 
With under five minutes to play in the half, Riya Kunderan had Rochester's best chance of the period, taking a shot off a free kick rebound with her left foot, sending the ball screaming just high and wide of the left post.
 
On the other end, CMU transitioned and earned the corner which led to the Frederick goal.
 
After intermission, things sparked right away in the second half, as a wayward back pass by the Yellowjackets led to a breakaway by CMU's Alex Adams just 30 seconds in.
 
Sabatier, recognizing the play came way off her line just outside the box and dove for the ball, tackling Adams in the process. The play resulted in a red card on Sabatier for breaking up the goal-scoring chance, forcing Rochester to play a player down the rest of the game.
 
On the ensuing free kick which came from 19 yards out, Cecelia Dieterich ripped a shot which relief keeper Grace Kuropatkin got just enough of to force it in the crossbar and away to safety.
 
Playing with only ten players, much of the rest of the half was spent in the CMU attacking zone, as the Tartans peppered a total of 18 shots in the game, seven of which were on goal.
 
Kuropatkin, made three saves in the second half, while Sabatier also stopped three shots in the opening 45 minutes.
 
As time was winding down in the final minute, Rochester's Natalie Kocsis found some open space at the edge of the box along the left wing and fired a hard shot towards the top corner looking for the tying goal. Unfortunately for the Yellowjackets, substitute goalkeeper Abby O'Conner read the shot well and leaped up for the save, preserving Carnegie Mellon's 1-0 win.
 
Rochester wraps up its regular season next Saturday with a road contest at another ranked opponent, taking on #15 Emory down in Atlanta.