PRINCE ATHLETIC COMPLEX – No. 18 University of Rochester field hockey got back to its winning ways, defeating the Nazareth University Golden Flyers, 4-1, on Wednesday afternoon at Edwin Fauver Stadium in their final matchup before the start of Liberty League play on Saturday.
 
The Yellowjackets quickly got on the offensive against the Golden Flyers, outshooting the visitors, 10-1 in the opening period and 23-4 in the first half. After UR earned its first penalty corner just over four minutes in, shots by Kristina Fedorova and Grayson Honig were blocked, leading to another penalty corner.
 
Another shot blocked, this time off the stick of Reiley Murphy, earned Rochester yet another corner, but a defensive save by Nazareth's Lydia Coombs kept Fedorova's second shot out of the net. On the rebound however, Hannah Mehta fired in another volley and Anya Arseneau redirected it in for a score to give the 'Jackets a 1-0 lead.
 
Rochester would keep pounding Morgan Russo and the Golden Flyers' defense the rest of the opening stanza, but the sophomore keeper made her first of 14 saves on Honig's attempt in the 10th minute, while Fedorova and Mehta saw two more shots blocked following UR's sixth penalty corner of the quarter.
 
Late in the period, the Golden Flyers earned a penalty corner, taken by Audra Mieczkowski, but UR's defense blocked Mieczkowski's attempt off the corner, and the 'Jackets took a 1-0 lead after one.
 
However, the Golden Flyers started to getting things going offensively in the second, earning another penalty corner just under a minute into the second, while UR nearly netted another score in the 18th minute.
 
Sophia Cuneo sent in UR's seventh penalty corner to Fedorova, and while Sofia LaFalce redirected the blast, another defensive save, this time by Nazareth's Sam Helmer, again kept UR from extending its lead.
 
The Golden Flyers then took things the other way, earning a penalty corner of their own, which they converted for a score. Kara Houston saved Michaela Cushman's first attempt off the corner, but Mieczkowski just snuck Cushman's second attempt past the goal line to even the contest at one-all with just over 10 minutes left in the second.
 
With the score all knotted at one, Rochester got back to its offensive onslaught, sending three-straight shots at Russo over the span of two minutes, all of which the sophomore saved.
 
While UR's defense held Nazareth without a shot the rest of the period after the equalizer, the Yellowjackets earned four penalty corners and sent seven shots on goal over the final 10 minutes of the first half, finally netting the go-ahead score in the waning moments of the period.
 
Honig saw two more shots blocked down the second-quarter stretch, as the sophomore attempted a game-high 16 shots, tied for the ninth-most in a single game in program history.
 
But after two more from Honig were saved and blocked, it would be Mehta who broke through for the 'Jackets, as the first-year deflected Fedorova's center-blast into the back of the net to give Rochester a 2-1 lead at the halftime break.
 
Rochester kept things rolling into the third, outshooting the Golden Flyers, 10-2 in the quarter, but four saves by Russo kept things at just a one-goal lead.
 
Another defensive save in the 38th minute by Heather Bliss kept Honig from notching a score, while Russo kept out shots by LaFalce and Kyla Byer to send the 'Jackets and Golden Flyers to the fourth separated by just one score.
 
The Yellowjackets kept on shooting through, and despite another defensive save early on in the fourth by Lydia Coombs that kept Mehta from finding her second goal of the night, Honig finally broke through with eight minutes to play.
 
On her 15th shot attempt of the evening, Honig beat a pair of Golden Flyer defenders before her back-hand shot found the top-right corner of the net to double Rochester's lead to 3-1.
 
And then just over a minute later, on her 16th attempt, Honig scored once again to put the game out of reach, weaving through the Nazareth defense before finishing with a six-yard blast to the low right.
 
Up 4-1, Rochester kept pushing over the final seven minutes, forcing three more saves on shots by Arseneau and Emily Fleming until the final horn sounded, finishing off the three-goal victory.
 
With the win, No. 18 Rochester moves to 4-1 on the year, while Nazareth drops to 3-5.
 
As a team, UR outshot the Golden Flyers, 44-6, including 22-3 on goal. The 'Jackets also earned 14 penalty corners compared to just four for the visitors.
 
Individually, Honig tallied a game-high two goals and 16 shots, while Fedorova notched seven and an assist. In goal, Houston made two saves and allowed just one goal, while Russo made 14 saves for Nazareth.
 
Rochester next hits the road to Schenectady, NY to open Liberty League conference play on Saturday, Oct. 5 against Union College at 3:00 p.m.