PRINCE ATHLETIC COMPLEX – Junior goalkeeper Kara Houston etched her name in the University of Rochester field hockey record book on Friday afternoon, posting the 19th shutout of her career in a 3-0 win over Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute at Edwin Fauver Stadium.
 
Houston finished victory with two saves, both coming in the fourth quarter, as visiting RPI was held without a shot over the opening three periods in the game. Rochester's defensive unit of Jodie Zeng, Abigal Mateer, Mara Heppard and Kyla Byer aided in the shutout, consistently thwarting the Engineer attacks throughout the game.
 
The clean sheet is the 19th solo shutout of Houston's career, breaking a 4-way tie with Kate Kujawa '20, Jean Cardinale '88 and Pamela Sheffield '04, for the Yellowjacket record.
 
Offensively, 21st-ranked Rochester (14-3, 4-2 Liberty League) was powered by two goals from sophomore Grayson Honig and a single tally from graduate student Zoe Conomikes. Conomikes added an assist to her stat line and Hannah Mehta also chipped in an assist for the Yellowjackets.
 
With the win, Rochester clinched the #3 seed in the upcoming Liberty League playoffs, currently sitting at 4-2 in league play. The Yellowjackets cannot move up or down in the conference standings, with one game remaining in the Liberty League schedule for all teams.
 
On Friday, UR's offensive onslaught started from the get go, as the Yellowjackets fired off 11 shots and earned a total of eight corners in the first quarter alone.
 
Honig got the scoring started late in the period tapping in a 3-yard shot after a terrific set up and backhand pass from Conomikes inside the circle. Honig's game-winner was her sixth of the season.
 
Rochester could have had a bigger cushion after the first had it not been for RPI keeper Tess Garchinsky in the cage. Garchinsky made seven of her 11 saves in the opening quarter, including three straight in the sixth minute against shots from Sophia Cuneo and Anya Arseneau.
 
A scoreless second quarter saw most of the play traverse the midfield, with UR only getting off three shot attempts, one by Honig and two by Arseneau.
 
After halftime, Honig got an insurance score for the 'Jackets in the opening three minutes of the third. After a penalty corner, the ball made its way around to Conomikes on the left wing. Conomikes sent a ball towards traffic in the circle where Mehta gently deflected the ball to Honig in space.
 
Honig then took the ball and fired a sweep shot from six yards that found the low right corner of the cage for the 2-0 lead.
 
Three minutes later, a rocket shot from the center of the circle by Conomikes clanged off the right post, nearly making it a 3-goal game.
 
In the fourth, Honig had her hat trick denied by a defensive save by RPI's Julie Thomas in the 50th minute.
 
Two minutes later, Conomikes notched a goal for the fourth straight game, slapping in a rebound off her own shot to make the score 3-0 and complete the scoring.
 
RPI (7-8, 2-4 Liberty League), finally got some offensive pressure over the final four minutes of the game, earning a corner in the 57th minute that led to a Grace Johnson shot wide.
 
With the Engineers still in possession, Lauren McCarthy had her attempt kicked away by Houston in goal for a save and over the final stretch of play, RPI finished with six shots total, two of which were on frame but saved by the 'Jacket keeper.
 
Up next, Rochester concludes its Liberty League conference schedule with a Sunday road matchup at Vassar starting at noon.