PITTSFORD, NY – The University of Rochester women's soccer team earned the program's 500th all-time victory on Tuesday night, defeating host St. John Fisher University 3-0 at Growney Stadium.
 
Rochester (5-0-1), ranked #7 in the latest United Soccer Coaches Division III poll, scored all three goals in the second half, coming from Eileen Harvey, Hannah Nagashima and Claire Grover to earn the milestone win.
 
Senior goalkeeper Grace Kuropatkin made five saves in her fourth shutout of the season, lowering her season goals against average to a miniscule 0.18.
 
In the fifth minute, the Yellowjackets got two good looks for the opening goal of the game, but shots from Claire Baim and Eileen Harvey were stopped by Cardinal keeper Sofia Pantoja.
 
Five minutes later, after a St. John Fisher foul gave Harvey a free kick from a dangerous position and after her service in, a flick header from Grover just zipped past the right post, keeping the game scoreless.
 
Kuropatkin was credited with her first save of the game in the 14th minute, stopping a long shot in from the right side off the foot of Madelyn Wania.
 
St. John Fisher (3-1-1) had a trio of chances midway through the half thanks to some strong offensive pressure in the Rochester zone. That pressure led to a couple of turnovers, but no goals came of the opportunities, as the shots went wide, high and a third attempt was saved by Kuropatkin.
 
The second of two back-to-back corner kicks in the 30th minute yielded a terrific chance from Jordyn Kowalkowski, but her one-timer volley off the Gabi Chioccola corner was saved by Pantoja at the near post.
 
Just before intermission, Maya Bravo sent a long cross field pass to a streaking Alyssa Doody on the right wing, but Doody's volley attempt towards the top center of the cage was corralled by Pantoja once again, sending the teams to halftime with the score 0-0.
 
The Cardinals had a few early looks at net in the second half, attempting to take the lead, but Kuropatkin denied Riley Grimm and three other chances sailed high over the opening six minutes.
 
Rochester's Harvey broke the scoreless draw in the 52nd minute. After Natalie Kocsis settled a bounding ball near midfield, she dropped a pass back to the sophomore who unleashed a missile from 26 yards out perfectly into the top right corner of the net.
 
A one-on-one win from Natalie Santangelo nearly made it 2-0 in favor of the Yellowjackets at the 56:41 mark, but her long, left-footed shot from the left wing deflected off the crossbar. In the ensuing three minutes, the Rochester first-year tallied two more shots, but both were sent wide.
 
In the 70th minute, Nagashima was able to double the Yellowjacket lead. After a steal in the defensive zone, the first-year led a counter into Cardinal territory. The ball got swung wide to Doody who lofted a service toward the goal. A deflection followed, with Nagashima settling with her left foot and then chipping a shot over Pantoja's diving attempt into the net.
 
With under eight minutes to play, Santangelo provided a terrific pass up the field to Grover for the third and final goal of the game. After the ball was mid-pass, Grover slipped behind a defender and avoided Pantoja who came off her line to break up the play and easily scored in the open net.
 
Grover's score was the 41st of her Rochester career, as the senior continues her pursuit of becoming the programs all-time leading scorer. She now only trails Alison Collins '04, by five goals, to match the program record.
 
Overall in the game, Rochester outshot St. John Fisher 20-16, with half of UR's attempts ending on frame. The Yellowjackets also doubled up the Cardinals in corners for the night, taking six of the nine corner kicks in the contest.
 
Up next, Rochester returns home for a big matchup on Saturday night against longtime upstate New York rival, William Smith.