ALFRED, NY – The 22nd-ranked University of Rochester women's soccer team bounced back after its first loss of the season last weekend to defeat host Alfred University 1-0 on Tuesday evening at Yunevich Stadium.
 
With the win, the Yellowjackets improve to 6-1-4 on the season, while Alfred falls to 6-5-2 with a loss in its final non-conference matchup of the year.
 
Rochester only mustered one goal, that by Claire Baim in the 34th minute, but had several other opportunities throughout the contest, including a penalty kick, shots off the crossbar and post and two shots that were saved off the line by Saxon defenders.
 
Overall, URochester led 23-3 in shot attempts, with the three shots allowed by the Yellowjackets being a season-low for a Rochester opponent this season. The shutout was the sixth clean sheet of the season, and first shared shutout by goalkeepers Eleni McGuire and Sydney Moore.
 
In the first half, neither team could generate much in the way of scoring chances until the midway point when a foul occurred by an Alfred defender in the box, giving Rochester a penalty kick chance.
 
Hannah Nagashima stepped up looking to break the scoreless game, but her shot sailed high off the crossbar, being UR's first PK miss of the season.
 
Six minutes later, Baim connected on the lone goal of the match. After the ball worked its way up the right sideline, Alyssa Doody possessed deep in the right corner of the pitch. Doody sent a skidding pass into the box and split three Saxon defenders perfectly, finding Baim who one-timed a shot into the left corner of the net. The tally was Baim's second of the season.
 
Shortly after, Doody nearly made it 2-0 URochester, but her tough-angle shot from the right side ricocheted off the crossbar.
 
With under five minutes to play in the half, a strong shot on goal by Jane Mueller off a centering pass from Delia McMullen was saved by a diving Kiani Barnard-Pratt in the Alfred goal, keeping the Saxons within one.
 
Rochester's near misses continued into the second half of play.
 
In the 61st minute, Cece Vassallo broke in on goal after a slip pass up the field from teammate Natalie Maye, but was denied by a strong defensive play by Molly Stainbrook. The Alfred defender kept Vassallo's shot out of the goal after the URochester senior was able to evade Barnard-Pratt in a one-on-one opportunity.
 
At the 65-minute mark of the game, Alfred recorded its lone shot on goal, but the right wing attempt from Lina Young was easily scooped up by Moore in the UR net.
 
Less than a minute later, Natalie Santangelo provided a drop pass to a wide-open Nagashima at the edge of the six, but Barnard-Pratt came up with another big save, keeping it a one-goal margin.
 
With under 20 minutes left, Alfred's Stainbrook made another team save, helping out her goalie on a header shot from Remi Cherkas following a Yellowjackets corner kick.
 
Maintaining just the one-goal lead, Rochester's defense did not allow a shot attempt over the final few minutes, earning the victory.
 
Tuesday night's game was the final non-conference matchup for Rochester as well, with the Yellowjackets continuing the 2025 campaign on Saturday evening at New York University.