TROY, NY – The University of Rochester field hockey team won its third shootout of the season, all coming in Liberty League games, defeating host Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 3-2 on Sunday afternoon at Harkness Field.
 
In the shootout, Rochester (13-4, 4-1 Liberty League) was perfect, scoring on its first three rounds, with senior goalkeeper Kara Houston forcing three Engineer (7-6, 1-4 Liberty League) misses, clinching the victory.
 
URochester's shootout scores were by first-year Ella Krauss, sophomore Sophia Cuneo and junior Grayson Honig. On Friday in a home matchup against Vassar, Krauss and Honig scored in the Yellowjackets 3-2 victory over Vassar, with Abigal Mateer scoring the clincher. Honig's shootout score on Sunday proved to be the clinching tally, with the third shootout round attempt by RPI saved away by Houston.
 
In regulation, the Yellowjackets got scores from senior Sofia LaFalce and junior Cassidy Romano, with the Engineers scoring twice in between there to sit up 2-1 until Romano's goal late in the fourth period.
 
Houston finished the game with eight saves overall for Rochester, pushing her career total to 303, making the senior the eighth player in Yellowjackets history to hit that milestone. Houston also picked up career victory number 52, moving within one of tying Madison Wagner '14 for the Yellowjackets all-time lead.
 
LaFalce got on the board first in the contest with her penalty stroke tally in the seventh minute. Following a penalty corner, Erin Foley had a shot at the right post blocked by an RPI defenders body part, awarding the Yellowjackets the stroke. The URochester senior calmly stepped up to the spot and beat RPI keeper Tess Garchinsky on the pad side for the 1-0 lead.
 
Late in the first, the Engineers knotted the score at 1-1 behind a goal from Ria Patel. RPI's opening goal also came on a penalty corner with Emily Dubord's initial shot getting corralled in the center of the circle by Patel. She then swept in a backhand shot to the low left corner of the cage for the equalizer.
 
After a scoreless second quarter, RPI thoroughly dominated the third period, outshooting Rochester 9-0 while also taking all five corners in the period. The Engineers even limited Rochester to very little possession on the RPI defensive half of the field.
 
At 35:41, RPI took the lead following a goal from Sophia Brown following a Yellowjacket turnover. A long hit out of the 'Jacket defensive zone was intercepted and sent right back into the circle. After settling the ball, Brown flicked a 5-yard backhand over Houston who went down for a kick save, making the score 2-1 Engineers.
 
Houston came up with two big saves early in the fourth and that momentum led to the Yellowjackets having a little more success offensively in the final period. Ultimately, URochester notched the tying goal with under two and a half minutes left in regulation.
 
The 'Jackets earned back-to-back corners in the 58th minute, with Romano scoring on the second of the two, tapping in a shot out of mid-air after Kyla Byer's left wing sweep shot was deflected up by an RPI defender.
 
Neither team was able to score in the 7-on-7 extra sessions, sending the game into the shootout, which was Rochester's fourth of the season.
 
The Yellowjackets shot first, with Krauss taking a mid-center circle shot and depositing it into the cage on Garchinsky's blocker side.
 
RPI's opening shootout shot was by Patel, but one of the Engineer goal scorers on the day couldn't even the shootout score as her tough angle shot from the right sailed wide of the cage.
 
Cuneo's initial shootout attempt was thwarted when she was tripped up by Garchinsky, but the officials ruled a violation and the Yellowjacket sophomore was allowed a redo. On the second try, Cuneo took a hard shot from the right side and found the cage for the 2-0 lead.
 
A backhand shot by Ella Pasquarelli on the Engineers second shootout round was missed left, giving Rochester a chance to build a commanding lead.
 
Honig made it 3-0 'Jackets in the shootout with a chipped shot that bounced over the keeper and into the cage.
 
Needing a score on all of its remaining shootout rounds, RPI ended up falling short when Houston saved a right wing forehand shot by Julie Thomas, and then poking away the loose ball rebound allowing the timer to expire and clinch the victory.
 
Rochester's win, coupled with a Union loss on Sunday moves the Yellowjackets to the top of the Liberty League standings with two games remaining in the regular season.
 
UR hosts Union next Saturday at noon in Fauver Stadium in a matchup of the conference's top two teams for its next contest. The regular season concludes with Rochester taking on William Smith on the road on October 29.