The University of Rochester field hockey team was selected for the 2022 NCAA Division III Field Hockey Tournament, earning an at-large berth into the tournament which begins on Wednesday, November 9.
 
Rochester, will host the University of New England in a matchup at Fauver Stadium in the Brian Prince Athletic Complex at 3 pm.
 
The tournament berth is the seventh appearance overall for the Rochester field hockey program, with all coming in the last ten seasons. UR has made tournament appearances in 2012 and for five straight years from 2015-2019. The Yellowjackets reached the National Quarterfinals four times.
 
This season, UR sports a record of 16-5 and was the top-seed for the Liberty League conference tournament which took place this past weekend at Rochester. The Yellowjackets defeated Vassar 2-0 in the semifinals before losing a heartbreaking 1-0 decision to William Smith on Sunday, falling in a shootout after the teams battled to a 0-0 score over 80 minutes.
 
The Liberty League final officially goes down as a shutout, which is Rochester's seventh in a row, dating back to a 1-0 win over RPI on October 16.
 
Coming in to face Rochester is the University of New England who is the automatic qualifier into the tournament for the Commonwealth Coast Conference. The Nor'easters earned a 1-0 win over Roger Williams in the conference semifinals and defeated Endicott 3-2 in overtime to claim the programs sixth league title.
 
Wednesday's matchup will be the first ever between Rochester and UNE.
 
The winner of the first round game will travel to the Babson Park, Massachusetts regional where host Babson awaits. Other teams in the regional include William Smith and Hartwick in a first round matchup along with Johns Hopkins who awaits the winner of that matchup in the second round. Second round matchups are on Saturday, November 12, with the regional final taking place on Sunday, November 13.
 
Leading the Yellowjackets is head coach Wendy Andreatta who is in her 15th season at the helm of the program. She currently has a 218-94 record overall and helped guide the team to Liberty League titles in 2017 and 2019. Andreatta is assisted by Jessie Cavolt and Courtney Dunham.
 
On the field, senior Nikki Mercer is Rochester's leading scorer with 31 points through 21 games. Mercer has 14 goals and 3 assists, including seven game-winning goals. First-year Maeve Fogarty has started every game and has 26 points (8 G, 10 A) to go along with a team high 89 shot attempts. Senior Karina Bridger leads the team with 11 assists and has added four goals to her stat total, accumulating 19 points. Junior Zoe Conomikes also has 19 points on the year, scoring seven goals and recording five assists.
 
In goal, first-year Kara Houston currently ranks second in Division III with a .885 save percentage and 0.50 goals against average. In 15 games (8 starts), she has allowed just six goals and made 46 saves while posting a 7-2 record. Sophomore Helen Schmitter also has seen significant action in the cage, making 13 starts while recording a 9-3 record. She has a 1.77 GAA and .673 save percentage.
 
Tickets for Wednesday's first round matchup will be sold at Fauver Stadium on the day of the game, beginning 90 minutes prior to the start of the contest. Ticket sales are cash only. Adult admission is $5, with students/seniors/youth being admitted for $3. Children 2 and under are free. University of Rochester students will be admitted free with their Student ID courtesy of Wilson Commons Student Activities.
 
Fans can also follow the game via live video stream for free at www.uofrathletics.com/watch or track the contest through live in-game statistics at https://uofrathletics.com/sidearmstats/fhockey/summary.