Box Score TROY, NY – Senior Zoe Conomikes scored both goals to lead the University of Rochester field hockey team to a 2-1 victory over host Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute on Saturday afternoon in a Liberty League conference matchup.
 
The win is Rochester's second straight and moves UR to 6-4 overall on the season and 1-1 in the Liberty League. RPI falls to 3-7 overall and 0-2 in the conference with the one-goal loss.
 
Rochester dominated the game for most of the opening three quarters, holding an 20-2 shot advantage and 6-3 corner lead over the first 45 minutes. RPI applied the pressure offensively in the final quarter, taking seven corners and eight of its ten total shots in the game, including scoring a goal in the final four minutes to make things interesting.
 
In the opening quarter, UR's Maeve Fogarty was the first Yellowjacket to test RPI's goalkeeper, Tess Garchinsky in the cage, firing a shot in the third minute. After Garchinsky made the save, a rebound went out to Vivianna Arnold, but her follow up sailed wide.
 
Rochester's first corner of the game came in the sixth minute, with Anya Arseneau earning a shot attempt that was blocked, leading to another PC. On the second try, RPI's defense blocked away a shot from Jessica Unkel.
 
Much of the second quarter was played in the RPI defensive zone. Rochester's Conomikes had a one-timer shot saved two minutes in with Fogarty getting denied by Garchinsky four minutes later.
 
The best chance of the quarter was in the 25th minute by Bella Militi at the goal mouth. Conomikes sent a cross in from the right side to her classmate in front who flipped a backhand toward the left post. The shot was saved by Garchinsky who was sprawling to her right in the cage.
 
Four minutes into the second half, Conomikes broke the scoreless tie slapping in a rebound in front of the RPI goal. After a corner, Arseneau took a shot from the top of the circle that was saved. A rebound chance from Arnold also was saved, with Conomikes cleaning up the loose ball with her fifth goal of the season.
 
Exactly seven minutes later, at 40:57, Conomikes notched her second score of the day, giving Rochester a 2-0 lead after blasting a low, hard shot from the top of the circle off a penalty corner insert from teammate Mara Heppard. The multi-goal game was the third of Conomikes' career and second this season.
 
Early in the fourth quarter, RPI was finally able to get its first shot on goal, testing Kara Houston in the Rochester cage. The shot, taken by Lauren McCarthy, was a backhand from the left side, but was swatted out of the air by Houston.
 
At the other end, Conomikes send another cross into the circle for Rochester, finding Fogarty at the left post. The sophomore attacker tried to flip a backhand shot between Garchinsky and the post, but the RPI keeper kept it a two-goal game with the save.
 
The Engineers were able to keep up the pressure late in the fourth, wearing down the UR defense for a goal in the 58th minute. After a corner, Abby Peterson took a hard shot from the top of the circle that was saved away by Houston. Teammate Ria Patel was able to clean up in front, slapping in a rebound shot for her first goal of the 2023 season.
 
As regulation ticked away, RPI frantically kept going forward earning three corners in the final minute.
 
The first ended with a shot going wide by Nina Caprio. The second attempt was an Abi Herrington attempt that was blocked.
 
Rochester thought it had the game won despite RPI having the ball in close, as the clock sat at all zero's, but an inadvertent whistle by the officials ended up stopping play and eventually the Engineers were awarded a final corner attempt.
 
That chance saw Abby Peterson's shot from the edge of the circle blocked away high into the air by the Yellowjacket defense, preserving the 2-1 win.
 
In goal, Houston picked up the win, making two saves. Garchinski was faced with 25 total shots, making 15saves for the Engineers. Conomikes led all players on the day with ten shot attempts, seven of which were on goal.
 
Rochester is back in action on Tuesday evening in a rescheduled game from earlier in the year against a nationally ranked SUNY Cortland squad, with the contest set for 6 pm.