PRINCE ATHLETIC COMPLEX – Playing in its first tournament game since 2019, the University of Rochester field hockey team advanced to the second round of the NCAA Division III Field Hockey Tournament following a 2-0 win over the University of New England on Wednesday afternoon at Edwin Fauver Stadium.
 
18th-ranked Rochester (17-5) got a goal late in the opening quarter by senior Nikki Mercer and added a key insurance tally from junior Delainey Hebble with under three minutes to play to account for the scoring. First-year goalie Kara Houston only needed to make one save in the shutout victory.
 
Mercer's goal was her eighth game-winning goal of the season, tying Michelle Relin from 2014 for the UR single-season record. It was her 15th overall goal on the year, while Hebble's tally was her fifth.
 
Rochester now moves on to the NCAA 2nd round where they will take on 7th-ranked and host Babson College on Saturday morning at 11 am. The Babson regional also features 4th-ranked Johns Hopkins University and the winner of another first round matchup between Hartwick College and 17th-ranked William Smith College.
 
Wednesday's game was a defensive battle throughout, with only seven total shots being taken in the game, five by Rochester and two by New England. The visiting Nor'easters (11-10) held the advantage in corners, leading three to two.
 
"We expected a very tough, scrappy, talented team in UNE and they definitely showed us that their defense was strong," said Head Coach Wendy Andreatta after the victory. "We knew we had to finish off the chances that we got in the game."
 
The Yellowjackets were able to strike first on the game's opening corner which took place over ten minutes in.
 

Mara Heppard inserted and passed the ball out to the edge of the circle to Hebble along the right wing. She slipped a pass to the top where Karina Bridger, 2022 Liberty League Offensive Player of the Year, sent the ball in towards the goal.
 
Mercer saw an opportunity and stopped the ball, and scored while slipping a backhand flick into the cage just inside the left post for the 1-0 lead.
 
When asked about her game-winner, Mercer said she thrives on chasing the scoring thrill.
 
"If we don't put it in the back of the cage, we won't progress as a team. Having that feeling, and knowing I want to avoid it, leads me to feel that if it is going to go in the net, I am going to be the one to do it."
 
In the second quarter, UNE turned to the offensive attack, generating all three of its corners, two of which came in the closing three minutes of the half.
 
The first corner at the 17:23 mark saw a slip pass into the circle stolen away by Maeve Fogarty on defense.
 
UNE's second corner in the 28th minute generate its lone shot on goal in the game. The attempt, off the stick of Sarah Padellaro was a low, skidding shot from seven yards. After the save by Houston, UR's Bella Militi and UNE's Madi Robito engaged in a long face-off in front of the goal, with Militi winning the battle and gaining possession for the Yellowjackets.
 
Just over a minute later, the Nor'easters earned another corner, with that set piece leading to a shot by Bailey Lynch that was blocked away by Heppard.
 
Rochester meanwhile, did not have a shot attempt in the second quarter, as New England clamped down defensively.
 
Early in the third quarter, Militi earned a solid chance for the Yellowjackets on a semi-breakaway up the left side, but defender Lauren Green and goalkeeper Lindsay Pych disrupted the play just enough and kept the contest a one goal game.
 
During the 40th minute, Rochester's Vivianna Arnold had a reverse shot blast from deep in the circle on the right wing, but the ball sailed just wide left of the cage.
 
The Yellowjacket defense, led by Liberty League Defensive Player of the Year Elisabeth Sidorski, Heppard, Abigal Mateer, Jodie Zeng and Lesley Leatherman returned the favor from earlier in the game, holding the Nor'easters without a shot attempt in the third quarter and fourth quarters.
 
"Everyone on our defensive line is a solid unit," explained the senior co-captain Sidorski. "I can trust in every single one of them that they are going to stay low, stay composed and calm, and make the smart decisions in the backfield."
 
UR's two shots allowed was the second lowest in a game this season. The shutout was the eighth straight for the Yellowjackets, and 11th overall on the season, with that mark sitting one shy of tying the Rochester single-season record.
 
Hebble scored the dagger for Rochester with 2:49 left in the game. Zoe Conomikes sent a hard pass into the circle from the right side and an opportunistic Hebble was there, swiping a one-timer shot from five yards into the bottom left corner of the net. The goal nearly matched one by the same two players from last weekend's Liberty League Tournament win over Vassar.