PRINCE ATHLETIC COMPLEX – University of Rochester field hockey scored twice in the opening minute and rolled to a 5-0 victory over the Nazareth University Golden Flyers in its season and home opener on Tuesday afternoon at Edwin Fauver Stadium.
The Yellowjackets needed just 29 seconds to score their first goal of the season, as
Molly Newbold found the back of the net off
Erin Foley's assist. Rochester got on the attack early, and Newbold finished off Foley's pass with a two-yard backhand across the face of goal to give URochester a 1-0 lead.
And just 30 seconds later,
Sophia Cuneo doubled the 'Jackets' lead, tipping in
Cassidy Romano's shot off Rochester's first penalty corner of the afternoon.
Leading 2-0, Rochester continued to pepper Ayva Kantor in goal for Nazareth over the next 14 minutes of the first, stretching their lead out to 4-0 before the first-quarter buzzer sounded.
Just over three minutes into the first, Kantor made her first save in goal, one of 15 on the day for the Golden Flyers' goalie, but
Grayson Honig and
Hannah Mehta would combine to break through just minutes later.
Honig found a cutting Mehta just shy of the five-minute mark of the first, and the junior made it 3-0 just 4:54 into the contest with a two-yard shot past Kantor in goal.
Mehta would add another off a penalty corner before the end of the first, shaking her defender and beating Kanter with a blast from the top of the arc in the 14th minute to make it 4-0 UR.
The Yellowjackets cruised through the next two frames, holding the Golden Flyers without a shot and without a penalty corner for the entirety of the contest.
URochester outshot Nazareth, 29-0, for the game, putting 20 of their 29 shots on goal.
In the second, Kantor saved a pair of shots from Newbold and Romano, while eight more saves from Nazareth kept the 'Jackets from extending their lead in the third.
In the fourth, though, the Yellowjackets would get back on the scoreboard, again taking advantage of one of their 11 penalty corners on the night.
Kantor saved Cuneo's first attempt, but unable to corral it, Cuneo knocked it high, and
Reiley Murphy tapped it into the back of the net to make it a five-goal lead.
Rochester's five goals are the most it's scored since Sept. 8, 2024, when it topped Kenyon, 5-1, while its five-goal margin is the 'Jackets' highest since a 7-0 win against Nazareth on Sept. 27, 2023.
With the win, Rochester moves to 1-0 on the year, while the Golden Flyers drop to 0-1.
Offensively, Mehta and Foley led the 'Jackets with four shots each, with Mehta putting both shots on goal into the back of the net. Cuneo, Foley, Honig and Romano each added an assist, as 14 different Yellowjackets contributed a shot.
In goal,
Katherine Jensen got the start and earned the win, while
Riley Leeser played the second half, with the two combining for the shutout.
The Yellowjackets next square off with Ohio Wesleyan in a neutral-site matchup hosted by Mercyhurst in Erie, PA on Sunday, Sept. 6 at 2:00 p.m.
