PRINCE ATHLETIC COMPLEX – The University of Rochester field hockey team secured a home game in the upcoming Liberty League playoffs with a 3-0 victory over William Smith College on Saturday morning at Edwin Fauver Stadium.
Rochester's win is the Yellowjackets third straight, all which came via the shutout, to end the regular season, improving the teams record to 12-6 and 4-3 in Liberty League play.
UR earned the fourth-seed following the Liberty League regular season, and will play fifth-seeded William Smith (9-10, 3-4 Liberty League) again at home in the opening round of the conference tournament on Tuesday.
The Yellowjacket goals were scored by
Hannah Mehta,
Kirsten Matzky and
Sophia Cuneo.
Riley Leeser and the UR defense contributed on the shutout, the tenth of the season for the Yellowjackets.
UR dominated the opening corner, holding the Herons without a shot and just one corner, continuing strong play defensively that saw the 'Jackets hold Oswego without a shot attempt in Tuesday's victory.
The scoring started at the midway point of the first, with Mehta scoring her team-leading 12th goal of the year After back-to-back shots by
Erin Foley were saved by keeper Olivia Terranova, the ball settled back to
Kristina Fedorova at the edge of the circle. Fedorova then dumped the ball back inside to Mehta who slipped a 3-yard backhand into the goal for the 1-0 lead.
In the second, William Smith was able to flip the script, earning five penalty corners while holding the Yellowjackets without a shot. The Herons only could generate two shots over the 15 minutes though, one getting blocked at the 19-minute mark and the other getting saved by Leeser in the 22nd minute.
The Yellowjackets earned a corner four minutes into the third quarter, but
Grayson Honig's shot from in close shortly after was saved by Terranova at the right post.
William Smith answered with a corner at the other end a minute later, but Mia Bolster's shot on that set play was sent wide of the 'Jacket cage.
Rochester's lead doubled in the 41st minute with Matzky's first career goal. Rochester gained possession in its defensive third with
Lucy Pentzer sending the ball up the midfield to Foley. After dribbling up field, Foley sent a pass up to Matzky who had slipped behind the Heron defense and had an open look at goal. Matzky connected on the score, beating Terranova to her left, sneaking the ball just inside the right post from eight yards.
Two late corners by the Herons were earned, but the 'Jacket corner defense, led by Honig, Mehta,
Sophia Cuneo and
Cassidy Romano fended off those chances without a shot, keeping it a 2-goal game.
As play shifted to the fourth, the Yellowjackets grabbed a key insurance goal early in the period, with Cuneo slapping in a loose ball in front just two and a half minutes in.
A penalty corner led to the ball making its way around to Fedorova along the left wing. The junior blasted a hard shot in front that was redirected by Honig through Terranova's legs toward the open goal, with Cuneo, the corner inserter, waiting to finish off the score.
Foley had a great chance to make it back-to-back goals just over two minutes later, but her hard backhand shot from the left side of the circle was kicked away by Terranova in the goal.
William Smith's last offensive threat came in the 52nd minute, with a corner leading to a shot by Ava Vecchione that was blocked.
Afterwards, Rochester was content with clamping down defensively, preserving the 3-0 win and 18th all-time win over the Herons in program history.
For the contest, Rochester led 9-5 in shots and 7-1 in shots on goal. William Smith earned 12 of the 15 penalty corners in the contest, with UR's Leeser making one save to secure the shutout. Terranova finished with four saves in the William Smith goal.
The 2026 season will be the reverse of the 2025 campaign, as in the regular season finale, the Herons defeated Rochester 1-0 on their home field and earned the right to host the Yellowjackets in the first round of the conference tournament, where they eventually advanced with another 1-0 victory. Rochester hopes the flipped trend continues with Tuesday's playoff matchup at Fauver Stadium.
