PRINCE ATHLETIC COMPLEX – The University of Rochester women's soccer team fended off a hard-charging squad from St. John Fisher on Tuesday evening, picking up a 3-2 non-conference victory at Edwin Fauver Stadium.
 
With the win, URochester remains unbeaten on the season, sitting at 3-0-2 through five games. The Cardinals drop to 2-3-1 following the loss.
 
The Yellowjackets got the scoring started early with a tally from junior Sydney Holmes on the first shot of the game. The forward collected a pass from the right side by Natalie Santangelo and saw the ball bounce up into the air. Holmes fought through a defender and settled the ball slipping a shot from the six past the Cardinal goalkeeper for a 1-0 lead.
 
Three minutes later, the Cardinals had a terrific chance on their first shot of the match by Madelyn Wania. After a bouncing ball yielded a 2-on-2 break, a pass came across the box to Wania who one-timed an attempt that trickled just wide of the Yellowjacket net.
 
At 31:55, Hannah Nagashima just missed a goal for Rochester, taking a left-footed shot from the edge of the box that was tracking towards the right corner of the goal. St. John Fisher's Sofia Pantoja came up with a leaping save though, keeping it a one-score contest.
 
UR's lead boosted to 2-0 in the 40th minute. Eileen Harvey tapped home a corner kick at the right post off the pass from the left corner by Nagashima.
 
A few minutes later, some solid passing set up Jane Mueller with a left-footed shot in the box, but St. John Fisher's Pantoja made the save in goal, sending the teams into the halftime break.
 
After intermission, the Cardinals played aggressive and earned a pair of shots in the opening two minutes. Sydney Moore made one of her three saves in the span, keeping St. John Fisher off the board.
 
With 37 minutes left in the game, Femke Laudy had a great chance to boost the Yellowjacket lead.
 
After running up on a long pass from teammate Ava Schmidt, a Cardinals defender whiffed on a clearance, allowing Laudy to come in all alone and shoot a ball that slipped past Pantoja in goal. The ball lost momentum though, allowing defender Ryann Dauksza to clear the ball off the line for a team save.
 
At the 75-minute mark, the Yellowjackets made it 3-0 when Riya Kunderan slotted a 1-timer shot into the goal after a back-heel pass in the box from Nagashima. The play was set up along the left end line by Claire Baim who sent the initial pass into Nagashima. The drop pass set up Kunderan perfectly for a wide open 8-yard shot.
 
Despite being down three, the Cardinals refused to give up and began to chip away at the lead. With just over nine minutes left, a long chip pass from Emily Woolingham led Abby Dorunda into open space near the UR net. After settling and stopping, Dorunda took a curling 15-yard shot from the left wing that cracked off the crossbar and down over the line for a goal.
 
Less than two minutes later, St. John Fisher struck again to make in a 3-2 game. A blocked centering pass was sent back near the midfield to Maddy Jackson who sent a high ball into the box hoping for something good to happen. After letting the ball bounce once, Elizabeth Gaughan leapt up in the air and headed the ball towards the net. Moore was off her line and unable to break-up the chance, and another UR defender just barely missed making a team save.
 
A late free kick yielded the Cardinals last shot on goal, but it was a light deflected ball that was easily scooped up by Moore.
 
The late surge continued into the final minutes, with St. John Fisher earning a corner kick with two minutes to play, but the 'Jackets were able to defend the play and hold on for the victory.
 
In the game, Rochester led 15-8 in total shot attempts, with a 9-5 margin in shots on goal. The Yellowjackets took four of the six corner kicks in the match, with both teams committing seven fouls.
 
Rochester's next opponent is longtime rival William Smith College, with that matchup set for Saturday at 11 am in Geneva, NY.