PRINCE ATHLETIC COMPLEX –
Erin Foley put the 'Jackets' first shot attempt of the afternoon into the back of the net, and URochester never looked back, as the University of Rochester field hockey posted its third-straight home shutout with a 4-0 win over the St. John Fisher University Cardinals on Wednesday afternoon at Edwin Fauver Stadium.
Foley finished off a pass from
Kristina Fedorova just under two minutes in to give Rochester a 1-0 lead, firing in a blast past Morgan Parrinello from center circle, about 13-yards out.
The Cardinals looked to answer back, earning the game's first two penalty corners within a minute. But
Riley Leeser, in her first start in goal, saved Jordan Kauffman's sixth-minute shot, while Avery McLaughlin's attempt on the ensuing corner sailed wide.
Defensively, Rochester would hold St. John Fisher to just one shot the rest of the way, while the 'Jackets went back on the attack, outshooting the Cardinals, 5-2, and 17-3 for the contest.
URochester put the pressure back on Parrinello and the Cardinals' defense over the next few minutes, with shots from
Breanna Bovey and
Molly Newbold going wide, before
Grayson Honig made it a 2-0 lead.
Gloria McDonald sent in a ball from the right wing that sailed past Parrinello, and Honig finished it off on a wide-open net to give the Yellowjackets a 2-0 lead with 3:54 left in the first. Honig would sail another shot wide before the first-quarter buzzer sounded, while
Maya Ullrich would quickly make it 3-0 in the second, as the 'Jackets scored on the first shot again in the second quarter.
Foley picked up the assist this time, chipping a pass over the keeper, which Ullrich put into the back of the net to make it a 3-0 URochester advantage less than two minutes into the second.
Saves on shots from Foley and
Hannah Mehta kept Rochester's lead at 3-0 heading into the halftime break, while Honig put another shot on goal that was saved by Parrinello early on in the third.
The Yellowjackets kept up the offensive pressure throughout the third period, though, with a defensive save from Jordan Kauffman keeping
Elly Ransel from making it a 4-0 game in the 42nd minute. Just over three minutes later, though, Rochester earned a pair of penalty corners and would make it 4-0.
Sophia Cuneo inserted Rochester's sixth penalty corner of the match in the 45th minute, resulting in a shot on goal by Foley, which was saved by Parrinello, and another penalty corner. Cuneo inserted again, and this time,
Lucy Pentzer found
Cassidy Romano for the goal.
Pentzer passed Cuneo's insertion back into the circle, where Romano swept in a shot from 10-yards out along the left wing to give Rochester a 4-0 lead just before the end of the third.
Rochester then cruised the rest of the way, holding the Cardinals without a shot for the final 40 minutes of the contest, while adding four more shots in the final frame before the buzzer sounded.
With the win, the Yellowjackets move to 4-1 on the year, while St. John Fisher drops to 3-3 with the loss.
Individually, Foley led the 'Jackets with a goal and an assist on four shots, three of which were on goal, while Fedorova and Honig added three shots apiece.
In goal,
Riley Leeser and
Madeline Mitchell each played 30 minutes, with Leeser making two saves.
The Yellowjackets next host Susquehanna University on Saturday, Sept. 19 at 3:00 p.m. inside Edwin Fauver Stadium.
