SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY – Behind a pair of first-half goals, the University of Rochester field hockey team earned its first Liberty League conference win of the year, defeating the Skidmore College Thoroughbreds, 2-0, on Saturday afternoon at Wagner Park.
Rochester defended a trio of early penalty corners from Skidmore, with a pair of blocked shots as well as an early save from
Riley Leeser, before
Molly Newbold got the Yellowjackets on the board.
Leeser's first of five saves came on the Thoroughbreds' penalty corner just over three minutes into the contest, a sliding stop off Catie O'Rourke's attempt that Rochester's defense then knocked away.
Following the third penalty corner, URochester took things the other way, and just past the five-and-a-half-minute mark of the first, found the back of the net.
Hannah Mehta's through pass found Newbold, and the Yellowjackets' junior slotted Mehta's pass past a diving Allison Morgan into the cage to give Rochester a 1-0 lead.
Newbold's shot was Rochester's lone shot of the first quarter, as the Thoroughbreds put the pressure on the 'Jackets early, with nine of their 17 total shots and seven of their 12 penalty corners in the first quarter.
Leeser and the Yellowjacket defense, though, wouldn't allow a ball through, deflecting several shots down the first quarter stretch, while Leeser picked up her second save late on a shot from Erin Ohlenbusch.
Rochester would get back on the scoreboard less than two minutes into the second quarter, as
Erin Foley took
Grayson Honig's pass down the right wing, went around her defender and found Mehta with a pass to the slot for the score.
Mehta's goal, her 10th of the year, made it a 2-0 lead for the Yellowjackets, and with a two-goal lead, the 'Jackets would settle into the contest.
The rest of the second quarter featured just two shots, one blocked by Mehta and another late from Emma Houff that went wide, before Rochester closed out the second quarter with a 2-0 lead.
Skidmore made a goalie change to start the third, bringing on Nicole Sylvestri to replace Morgan, and the Yellowjackets quickly put the pressure on the Thoroughbreds' goalie.
With a player advantage following an early green card, Honig and Foley forced Sylvestri to make two quick saves before
Sophia Marcotte got another on goal off a penalty corner in the 34th minute.
Rochester earned four of its five total penalty corners in the third period, but Sylvestri and Skidmore's defense kept the 'Jackets from extending their two-goal lead.
However, Leeser and Rochester's defense matched Skidmore on the other end, with Leeser sliding in to make a stop on Izzy Blake shot just shy of the 42-minute mark of the third, while UR defended three Skidmore corners down the third-quarter stretch to keep the Thoroughbreds off the scoreboard and keep their lead at 2-0.
In the fourth, Leeser and co. again defended an early onslaught from the Thoroughbreds, with the Yellowjackets' first-year goalie notching her fourth and fifth saves of the afternoon on shots by Ohlenbusch and Colby Paul.
After Ohlenbusch's 49th-minute attempt was blocked off a penalty corner, Leeser got in front of Ohlenbusch's sixth shot of the day in the 50th minute, and then stopped another from Paul less than a minute later.
Then in the 52nd minute, Gianna DiGioacchino hit the post, and Rochester was able to halt the Thoroughbreds' offensive sequence and take things the other way before the final buzzer sounded.
With the win, the Yellowjackets move to 8-4 (1-2 LL) on the year, while the Thoroughbreds drop to 5-7 (0-3 LL) with the loss.
Individually, Mehta led Rochester with five shots, tallying a goal and an assist. In goal, Leeser made five saves to earn the win.
The Yellowjackets next hit the road to Clinton, NY, for a non-conference matchup at Hamilton College on Tuesday, Oct. 13 at 5:00 p.m.
