PRINCE ATHLETIC COMPLEX – The University of Rochester field hockey team got a late penalty stroke goal from junior
Hannah Mehta and edged out visiting Susquehanna University on Saturday afternoon at Edwin Fauver Stadium.
Mehta's goal came with 3:36 left in what was a 0-0 contest up until that point. The penalty stroke was awarded after a River Hawk defender stopped a Mehta sweep shot on a prior penalty corner with a foot foul.
That block was the third of three straight chances by the Yellowjackets on the late corner, with
Kristina Fedorova earning two other shots, one blocked and one saved by River Hawk keeper Kylie Schmidt.
After the stroke was awarded, Mehta stepped to the mark and beat the keeper for her fourth goal of the season, giving the Yellowjackets the advantage.
Susquehanna responded by pulling the goalie and maintained most of the possession the rest of the way, only were unable to break through with the tying goal.
The River Hawks (1-5) did get a penalty corner with under two minutes left, but Lexi Kresge's shot was blocked away by
Sophia Cuneo on the penalty corner defense.
For the most part, Rochester (4-1) dominated the state sheet, leading 24-4 in shots, with 16 of those attempts being on target. UR also led 11-3 in penalty corners, but the River Hawk defense and Schmidt in goal made it a game.
Schmidt finished with 12 saves in goal, while defenders Taylor Rothermel, Isabel Goncalves and Kresge were credited with defensive saves from their field positions.
The first defensive save came shortly after halftime following a scoreless opening 30 minutes.
At 31:26, a penalty corner gave the Yellowjackets a good look to break through. Mehta took a shot that was deflected high by
Grayson Honig. The ball eventually came down and Honig slipped a backhand shot through the pads of Schmidt towards the goal.
SU's Rothermel was there with a teammate on the goal line and was able to sweep the ball out, keeping it a 0-0 game.
Two more penalty corners ensued on the possession, but the Yellowjackets could not get a shot off on either.
With ten minutes left in the period, UR's
Molly Newbold intercepted a pass in midfield and led a 2-on-0 breakaway with Honig, but Newbold's shot just 12 yards was kicked away by Schmidt who came way off her line to disrupt the play.
Early in the fourth quarter, Mehta was denied this time by the Goncalves defensive save.
After gaining the edge deep inside the circle, Mehta curled around to the center of the field five yards off the line. The juniors shot got past the keeper, but Goncalves was in good position to clear the ball away, breaking up the scoring chance.
Eight minutes later, Mehta was again thwarted of a goal by another solid Susquehanna defensive play.
This time it was Kresge being in the right place and the right time, stopping Mehta's chipped ball that got flicked with a backhand between the stick and kicking pad of Schmidt in the goal.
Finally, with under three minutes to go, Mehta got her score after she was denied again by a defender playing behind Schmidt in the goal. Fortunately for the Yellowjackets, the last blocked shot was off a foot, leading to the penalty stroke and eventual only goal of the contest.
At the other end,
Katherine Jensen picked up the shutout win for the Yellowjackets, making one save.
URochester celebrated its senior day on Saturday as well, with the six Yellowjacket seniors, Honig, Jensen,
Elena Mendoza,
Reiley Murphy,
Sofia Mianzo and
Cassidy Romano all being honored with their families prior to the contest. All six seniors got to start as well in the eventual 1-0 UR victory.
After a few days off, UR returns to action on Wednesday afternoon in a road matchup at SUNY Geneseo starting at 4 p.m.
