GENEVA, NY – The University of Rochester men's soccer team fell on the road for the second time this season, dropping a 1-0 decision at the hands of host Hobart College on Saturday afternoon at Cozzens Field.
Hobart's win pushes the Statesmen's record to 5-0 overall, while URochester sits at 1-2-1 through four games on the 2026 slate.
Brady Leitner scored the game's lone goal in the ninth minute, notching his second of the season. Griffin Coutts and Noah Fischer picked up the assists on the play, as Coutts took a free kick and served the ball to Fischer who headed the ball from the left post across the goal mouth where Leitner headed in the tally.
Overall in the contest, URochester held the slim advantage in shots (12-10) and corner kicks (4-2), but fell short in the goal count.
The Yellowjackets did have a few good chances in the game, with
Johnny Makula ripping a shot just over the crossbar at the 18-minute mark.
A few minutes later,
Will Fallona split a pair of Hobart defenders and stepped into a hard shot from 18-yards, but his attempt deflected off the left post and rolled safely back into the hands of Hobart keeper Jake Hans.
Later in the game, Makula had a 1-on-1 chance inside the box with Hans, but the UR forwards shot was saved by the Hobart keeper. Hans ended up with two saves in the clean sheet.
With time ticking away in the contest, URochester earned a corner kick in an attempt to pull even. The ball ended up on the foot of
Sebastian Ballesteros 20 yards off the line. The sophomore took a hard shot, but his attempt sailed high and wide of the net, shortly before time expired.
In the Rochester goal,
Aidan Hartman made three saves, with the Yellowjackets also picking up a team save on defense with ten minutes to go in the first half.
Makula finished with a game-high four shots, while Ballesteros finished with three. Hobart's Daniel Spataro led the Statesmen with three shot attempts, two of which ended on frame.
Up next, the Yellowjackets travel to Skidmore College in a back-to-back, with Sunday's game kicking off at 1 p.m.
