KEENE, NH – No. 19 University of Rochester women's soccer tallied its third-straight shutout and wrapped up its undefeated weekend at Keene State's Denise Lyons `90 Kickoff Classic with a 4-0 victory over the Wentworth Institute of Technology Leopards on Sunday at the Owl Athletic Complex.
Delia McMullen tallied three of Rochester's four goals to notch the 25th hat trick in program history, and the 'Jackets' first since Claire Grover's five-goal performance at SUNY Brockport on Sept. 7, 2022. McMullen got the Yellowjackets on the scoreboard first just shy of the 14-minute mark of the first half, and finished off the hat trick with two goals in less than two minutes early on in the second half.
After the Leopards sent a pair of shots wide to open the contest,
Eileen Harvey took the Yellowjackets' first attempt in the 13th minute, rolling a shot wide of the mark. Less than a minute later, though, McMullen at the Yellowjackets would break through, as
Claudia Ferreira's cross bounced off a defender, right in front of goal, and McMullen finished it into the back of the net to give UR a 1-0.
The Yellowjackets would continue to pepper Wentworth's Shyla Kulesza in goal over the next few minutes, with attempts from
Femke Laudy and
Natalie Santangelo sailing wide, while
Eleni McGuire stepped up to make her lone save of the afternoon in the 22nd minute.
Addison Bilodeau put the Leopards' lone shot on goal in the 22nd minute, but McGuire came up with the save to keep Rochester in front.
Taking things the other way,
Maya Bravo and
Lauren Blanch each forced Kulesza to make a stop before the halftime buzzer sounded, with Bravo's attempt coming off Rochester's corner kick in the 24th minute. While Blanch's shot on goal also came off a URochester corner, as the 'Jackets earned four-straight corner kicks over a five-minute stretch.
The 'Jackets' first corner of the stretch came in the 32nd minute, while after a trio of subs, Rochester notched another just past the 35-minute mark.
Jane Mueller's attempt off the corner was blocked, resulting in another corner, which Blanch put on goal. Blanch's header nearly made it 2-0, but Kulesza's leaping save kept the Yellowjackets from extending their lead.
Rochester would take a 1-0 lead into the halftime break, but McMullen quickly made it 2-0 and then 3-0 less than 10 minutes into the second half.
Kulesza saved second-half shots from Harvey and
Sydney Holmes, and after McMullen's second goal was called off due to offside, the sophomore found the back of the net yet again, this time onside, to give Rochester a 2-0 lead with just under 40 minutes to play.
Then a little over two minutes later, McMullen finished off the hat trick with a third, unassisted tally in the 53rd minute, giving the Yellowjackets a 3-0 advantage.
That'd be all that McGuire and the URochester defense needed, as Rochester held Wentworth without a shot the entire second half, outshooting the Leopards, 12-0 in the final 45 minutes and 23-4, 10-1 on goal, in the contest.
Megan Anderson would add one more tally for the Yellowjackets in the 69th minute, scoring off a cross into the middle by
Alyssa Doody, deflected by
Stella Van Arsdale. Anderson blasted the pass into the top of the net to make it a 4-0 lead, giving Rochester its second-straight shutout victory with four or more goals scored.
With the win, the 19th-ranked Yellowjackets move to 3-0 on the season, while Wentworth drops to 1-1-1 on the year.
Individually, Santangelo tallied a team-high four shots, while Harvey and McMullen each had three. In goal, McGuire played all 90 minutes and made one save.
Rochester will look to keep rolling when they next head to Williamsport, PA, for a matchup against Lycoming College on Saturday, Sept. 12 at 1:00 p.m.
