PRINCE ATHLETIC COMPLEX – No. 6 University of Rochester women's soccer defeated the No. 16-ranked New York University Violets, 2-1 on Saturday at Edwin Fauver Stadium to advance to Sunday's Sectional Final.
 
The 'Jackets remained unbeaten on the year at 15-0-5, picking up their fifth-straight 2-1 victory to move on to the Sectional Final on Sunday at 3:00 p.m., where they'll face Tufts University, who defeated No. 22 Bowdoin, 3-2, in the second game of the day. The 16th-ranked Violets fell to 14-3-2 on the year with the loss.
 
NYU's Dominique Bevacqua would fire the game's first shot just over a minute into the contest with a shot wide, while UR's Sarah Martin picked up the Yellowjackets' first tally with a long-range shot in the ninth minute that went to the far left of the net.
 
The Violets would have the majority of the shots early, outshooting Rochester 5-3 in the first half and 10-5 in the match. In the 11th minute, Gabriella Funk saw her shot blocked off a cross from the left wing, while Hope Neale sent a pair wide between the 13th and 18th minutes, sandwiched around two NYU corners.
 
Rochester developed its first big opportunity just past the 11-minute mark, as Mia McGinty crossed the ball into the box from Claire Grover, but the senior's header sailed just over the net for a goal kick.
 
Then on the counterattack after NYU couldn't convert off a corner, McGinty took the ball the other way and nearly found Grover 1-on-1 with the Violets' keeper, Tyler Hawkins, but the pass sailed just out of the reach of Grover.
 
Less than a minute later though, McGinty would have another opportunity, playing it through to Grover with a head of steam down the right side. And this time, the senior wouldn't miss, connecting on a score from about 13 yards out, past a diving Hawkins to give UR the lead just over 18 minutes in.
 
And with that goal, her 19th of the season, Grover set the program single-season record for both points and goals, surpassing Alison Collins' 2002 campaign.
 
Both teams would settle in with the 'Jackets up 1-0, combining for just one short and one corner before the halftime buzzer. In the 28th minute, UR defended one of four first-half corners for the Violets, while Riley Mullady's 35th-minute shot from distance sailed high and wide for a goal kick.
 
Looking for the equalizer, the Violets pressed things offensively to start the second half, earning a 50th minute corner, before Makenzie Rodrigues forced Grace Kuropatkin's first save of the afternoon.
 
Dribbling down the right wing, Rodrigues whipped in a right-footed shot on goal, but Kuropatkin made the diving save, and Tess Peterson was able to draw an offsides call to prevent any more danger.
 
UR then defended another corner kick at just past the 54-minute mark, before the 'Jackets got on the offensive. McGinty again got the 'Jackets going with a cross from the right, and after a few bounces it made its way to Natalie Kocsis, whose right-footed, rolling shot forced Hawkins to make another save.
 
Then in the 64th minute, the 'Jackets earned a free kick from just outside the box on the far left wing, and Grace Regenstrief's kick squirted through Hawkins' hands and into the back of the net for another UR score.
 
But the 'Jackets 2-0 lead would be short-lived as less than eight minutes later, NYU would break through. Riley Mullady took the first of two shots in the span of two minutes, forcing another Kuropatkin to save with a long-range shot from just outside the box.
 
It would be Mullady's second shot though, at the 71:44 mark, that would go through and cut into Rochester's lead. The Violets earned a free kick from just outside the box, and Mullady squeezed it through UR's wall and into the far, lower-left corner of the net, out of the reach of Kuropatkin to make it a 2-1 'Jacket lead.
 
And less than a minute later, the Violets forced Kuropatkin to make a play 1-on-1 with Kelli Keady, and the junior was able to a clean tackle to keep NYU from having another opportunity.
 
UR would hold NYU to just two more chances down the stretch, the first coming in the 79th minute. Catie Collins fired in another long-range shot, forcing Kuropatkin to make yet another diving save, her third of the game, and set up a Violets' corner. Collins then got a head on the corner but sailed it high for a goal kick.
 
The Violets then had one more chance with the clock ticking under a minute, earning a corner at the 89:47 mark. But the 'Jackets' defense again held NYU without a shot on their eighth corner of the night, finishing off the 2-1 victory to advance to Sunday's Sectional Final.
 
Grover led UR with a pair of shots, while Kocsis, Martin and Regenstreif each notched one. Grover and Regenstreif scored for the 'Jackets with McGinty tallied the lone assist.
 
In goal, Kuropatkin made three saves, while Hawkins made one for NYU.
 
The Yellowjackets will face Tufts University in the Sectional Final on Sunday, Nov. 18 at 3:00 p.m. at Edwin Fauver Stadium, with a spot in the NCAA Division III Women's Soccer Final Four on the line.