PRINCE ATHLETIC COMPLEX – No. 23 University of Rochester field hockey scored 41 seconds in and never looked back, downing the Oswego State Lakers, 4-0 on Friday afternoon at Edwin Fauver Stadium to kick off #MelioraWeekend on the River Campus.
 
In another shutout win for the 'Jackets, Rochester held Oswego without a shot and took 38 of their own, putting 23 on goal. And if not for a tremendous effort in goal by the Lakers' Sam Krautheim, who made 19 saves, Rochester would've surely converted a few more.
 
The Yellowjackets quickly got on the offensive as soon as the opening whistle sounded, with Grayson Honig forcing Krautheim's first save just over 30 seconds in. And on the rebound, Sofia LaFalce found the back of the net, bouncing one just inside the right post for the 'Jackets' quickest goal of the year.
 
Up 1-0, Rochester would keep the pressure on Oswego, earning seven penalty corners over the first five minutes of the contest, and tallying 10 shots in the opening period.
 
Off UR's first corner of the match, Kyla Byer had her shot blocked, resulting in another corner, while Sophia Cuneo's attempt on the 'Jackets' second corner of the afternoon went wide.
 
A corner later, Krautheim saved a pair of attempts from Anya Arseneau and Cuneo, and then on the ensuing corner, Krautheim knocked away Cassidy Romano's attempt on goal.
 
Oswego would finally clear the ball out of its defensive zone after UR's seventh corner, but it wouldn't take long for the 'Jackets to add to their lead.
 
Off another penalty corner inserted by Cueno in the 11th minute, Arseneau found the back of the net with a right-wing blast, assisted by Romano, to double UR's lead.
 
After a pair of early penalty corners led to a trio of shots in the second, Rochester would put together another offensive spurt down the stretch, heading into halftime. UR earned eight corners in a less than five-minute span, with UR sending seven shots on goal, all of which Krautheim saved.
 
Kristina Fedorova put two on net on URochester's first two penalty corners of the stretch, while Romano, Maya Ullrich and Cassie Ward added shots on goal in the 27th minute.
 
But despite 14 second-half shots, the Yellowjackets' lead would stay at two until early on in third. Off a 37th-minute corner, Cuneo deflected Byer's pass in front of the goal right to Honig, whose backhand flip gave Rochester a 3-0 lead.
 
And with a three-goal lead in hand and Rochester locking down things defensively, the Yellowjackets would cruise into the fourth, taking just six shots in the third and another eight in the fourth.
 
Reiley Murphy had UR's first attempt of the final frame blocked with just over nine minutes to play, while Erica Rawson sent one wide with a little over five minutes to play.
 
Then, on a shot by Cassidy Romano in the 55th minute, Murphy found her score, deflecting Romano's attempt into the goal to net herself a score, and Romano an assist.
 
Down the stretch, Rochester earned four more penalty corners and saw several attempts blocked or go wide, as UR continued to pepper Krautheim until the final buzzer sounded.
 
Rochester moves to 8-1 with the win, while Oswego drops to 1-6 with the loss.
 
Individually, Arseneau led URochester with nine shots, putting six on goal, while Cuneo, Romano and Ward each took four.
 
Defensively, UR didn't allow a shot, with Kara Houston, Katherine Jensen and Madeline Mitchell all sharing the shutout win. Houston played 45 minutes in goal, while Jensen and Mitchell split the fourth quarter, with Mitchell seeing her first action of the year.
 
The 'Jackets are back in action when they hit the road for a pair, beginning with a crosstown matchup at St. John Fisher in Pittsford, NY on Wednesday, Sept. 24 at 4:00 p.m.