NEWARK, NJ – Despite taking just four total shots, No. 25 University of Rochester women's soccer defeated the 15th-ranked New York University Violets, 2-1, on Friday evening at Lubetkin Field at Mal Simon Stadium for their second-straight road, conference win.
 
The 'Jackets scored two goals on their four shots, taking an early lead less than five minutes in, and re-taking the lead a little over five minutes after NYU tied it early in the second half to earn their 10th victory of the year. With the win, the 25th-ranked 'Jackets move to 10-2-2 (3-1 UAA) on the year, while the Violets drop to 9-2-4 (1-2-1 UAA).
 
After Eileen Harvey drew a foul just a few yards shy of the top of the box, the Yellowjackets earned a free kick, the first scoring opportunity of the night just past the four-minute mark. Maya Bravo took the kick for UR and converted, bending her kick over the NYU wall and just inside the right post into the back of the net to give the 'Jackets a 1-0 lead.
 
The Violets looked to respond quickly on the other end, but NYU's first attempt off the foot of Bryce Chan sailed wide, while Grace Kuropatkin came up with her first two of seven saves on the evening, stopping shots from Kelli Keady and Riley Mullady over the next two minutes.
 
NYU would continue to test the Yellowjacket defense, outshooting UR, 6-1 in the first half and 20-4 overall for the contest, but Rochester would be up for the task.
 
Neither side would put a shot on goal the rest of the first half, as attempts by Keady, Mullady and Eileen Xu went wide and were blocked by the 'Jacket defense over a 15-minute stretch from the 10:40 mark of the first till the 26:13 mark of the opening stanza.
 
The Yellowjacket defense also defended a pair of NYU corners, successfully defending both of the Violets' corner tries in the first half, and all seven overall.
 
However, just over a minute into the second half, Keady and the Violets would find the back of the net to equalize, leveling the score at one-all.
 
Jessica Tonthat found Keady with a pass ahead, 1-on-1 with a Yellowjacket defender. Keady then made a tremendous move to find some space, and shot across goal from just beyond the box, beating Kuropatkin to the near post to even the score at 1-1.
 
Keady nearly scored another just minutes later, but a sliding stop by Kuropatkin knocked the graduate midfielder's shot away for an NYU corner, while Mullady's shot off the set-piece was blocked and taken the other way on the counterattack.
 
And on UR's ensuing counterattack, Rochester again earned a free kick from a dangerous position. Claudia Ferriera took the free kick, and while the Violets deflected her initial volley, Bravo floated it back in for Riya Kunderan, who headed it into goal to give Rochester a 2-1 lead.
 
Now trailing 2-1, the Violets would get right back to work offensively, forcing the Yellowjacket defense to face 14 second-half shots, 11 of which came after UR retook the lead.
 
After Rena Kalargiros' 55th-minute shot bounced off the left post, Kuropatkin saved another attempt from Keady in the 58th minute, setting up another NYU corner, while Tonthat's shot at the 62:00 mark sailed wide left.
 
The 'Jackets put together another sequence offensively, after defending yet another corner just past the 70-minute mark, with Alyssa Doody's shot being cleaned up by Riley Felsher. UR would win the ball back though, and Claire Grover sent a tremendous ball forward to Hannah Nagashima, who spun past an NYU defender but curled her shot wide of the mark.
 
Kuropatkin then tacked on another save, this time on a volley from Maddy Xiong, before two late stops helped seal the 2-1 victory.
 
In the 85th minute, UR's senior keeper made another diving stop, keeping a re-directed cross from Kalargiros from sneaking inside the near post. While after UR's defense blocked Rachel Kim's 88th-minute attempt, setting up one last NYU corner, Kuropatkin corralled Keady's header just before it could bounce in.
 
One last attempt from Xu would miss high, and the Yellowjacket, despite taking just four shots, would open their UAA, doubleheader weekend, with a 2-1 win.
 
Bravo led UR with a goal and an assist, while Kuropatkin made seven saves to earn the win.
 
Rochester next heads to Waltham, MA, wrapping up the doubleheader weekend with a matchup against Brandeis University on Sunday, Oct. 27 at 11:00 a.m.