CLINTON, NY – The 21st-ranked University of Rochester field hockey team defeated the 24th-ranked Hamilton College Continentals, 2-1, on Wednesday evening at Goodfriend Field, scoring the game-winner off a penalty corner with just 26 seconds to spare.
 
After Lilly Truchon and the Continentals knotted the score at one-all in the 50th minute, the Yellowjackets went back on the attack over the final 10 minutes, looking to retake the lead and secure the victory.
 
Rochester notched eight shots and six penalty corners over the final 10 minutes as they pushed forward looking for a potential game-winning score. A little over a minute after Truchon tied it on Claire Tratnyek's assist just shy of the five-minute mark of the fourth, Grayson Honig fired UR's first salvo, forcing one of five saves on the night for Kelly Janssen.
 
On the ensuing penalty corner, Zoe Conomikes shot went wide, but the Yellowjacket attack kept up the offensive pressure, earning another corner just over five minutes later, on which Janssen again made the save, this time on Kristina Fedorova's shot.
 
A minute later, Rochester again earned a penalty corner, one of six in the fourth and 11 overall for the 'Jackets, but again Janssen came up with a save, keeping Hannah Mehta from breaking the 1-1 tie.
 
With less than two minutes remaining though, the 'Jackets earned a trio of corners, firing four successive shots over a minute, with the final one finding the back of the net.
 
Mara Heppard inserted the first of three penalty corners with 1:08 to play, followed by shots by Mehta and Honig, both of which went wide. Sophia Cuneo then sent in the second, on which Fedorova's shot was blocked, before finally, with Cuneo inserting again, the first year redirected Conomikes' shot for a score to give Rochester a 2-1 lead with 26 seconds left.
 
Hamilton would empty the net on one last-ditch effort to equalize, but a high flick was out of reach and UR's defense knocked it away to secure the victory.
 
The Continentals put the pressure on Kara Houston and Rochester's defense early, forcing UR's goalie to make four of her six saves in the first quarter. Houston thrice kept Hamilton out of the back of the net on a pair of penalty corners six minutes in, and added another save in the eighth minute on Alden Duserick's shot, before UR notched its first attempt.
 
Conomikes took Rochester's lone shot for the first quarter, sending one wide off UR's first corner, while the 'Jackets took the lone two shots of the second. Mehta had her first shot blocked less than a minute into the second, while Honig got a shot on goal and forced a save by Abby Griffin just before the halftime buzzer.
 
In the third, the Yellowjacket offense got off to a hot start, drawing a pair of penalty corners, and converting the second into a score. Janssen saved shots from both Honig and Fedorova to start the third, but on the ensuing corner after Fedorova's attempt, the Mehta found the back of the net, knocking in another attempt from Fedorova to give UR a 1-0 lead.
 
That lead would stand till the five-minute mark of the fourth, when Hamilton scored off a penalty corner of its own, setting things up for the final 10 minutes for UR.
 
With the win, the 21st-ranked Yellowjackets move to 5-0 on the year, their best start since 2018, while No. 24 Hamilton falls to 1-2.
 
Honig led UR with five shots, three of which were on goal, while Cuneo and Mehta scored Rochester's two goals, with Conomikes and Fedorova contributing the assists.
 
In goal, Houston played all 60 minutes to earn the win, making six saves, while Janssen made five saves for Hamilton in just under 30 minutes in net.
 
As a team, Rochester outshot the Continentals, 15-9, and had 11 penalty corners compared to just four for the home side.
 
The Yellowjackets will look to keep rolling when they travel to Dunmore, PA for a matchup against Marywood University on Saturday, Sept. 14 at 11:00 a.m.