The field hockey team finished last week in third place in Liberty League play with a very respectable 6-4 overall record after falling to the nationally-ranked William Smith College Herons last Wednesday night.
The team, however, salvaged the weekend by defeating Hartwick College on Saturday.
Wednesday’s game, played under the lights of Fauver Stadium, involved a close, 1-0 affair in favor of the Herons for over 50 minutes of play.
The Herons pulled ahead early, scoring off of a penalty corner less than four minutes into the first half. The UR defense managed to keep the Herons at bay until the second half.
With only 15 minutes of game time remaining, a William Smith player netted one, and soon repeated to score her second goal of the half.
“The game against William Smith showed us how strong we are, the importance of capitalizing on opportunities and what a five minute lapse can do,” head coach Michelle Andre said.
William Smith scored their last three goals within seven minutes of each other, the final one hitting the back of the net, unassisted, at 61:29.
Despite the 4-0 lead in favor of the away team, the Yellowjackets refused to give up. With only three minutes remaining, sophomore Kari Plewniak scored off of an assist by junior Kristy Johnson to destroy the Herons’ shutout hopes. The final score was 4-1.
Sophomore Rachel Cahan stopped 11 shots although the Herons got four past her. William Smith improved to 3-0 in Liberty League play, while UR fell to 2-1.
On Saturday, the Yellowjackets started off October with an exciting win against the Hartwick College Hawks.
Junior Krista Butler assisted fellow junior Revay Wilson to score the first goal of the game 20 minutes and 31 seconds into the first half. Five minutes into the second, the Hawks retaliated with a goal of their own, tying the game at 1-1.
The UR offense came alive, relentlessly attacking Hartwick.
Plewniak as well as junior and co-captain Mary DiMatteo assisted junior Celi Fletcher to bring the Yellowjackets into the lead. Furthermore, senior Courtney Nussbaum sealed the Yellowjackets’ win at 65:44 and netted the team’s third goal with help from Johnson.
Offensively, the Yellowjackets dominated the game, outshooting the Hawks 19-3.
Cahan made two saves while allowing only one goal throughout 70 minutes of play. The final score was 3-1.
“We controlled the flow of the game against Hartwick,” Andre said. “When we played on Saturday, the team was focused and they were in control of everything, no matter what was happening within the game. When Hartwick tried to mount an attack we just shut them down.”
The Yellowjackets will play on Friday and Saturday against the Union College Dutchwomen and Skidmore College Thoroughbreds, respectively.
As of Sunday, the Dutchwomen were tied with UR in Liberty League standings, while the Thoroughbreds were ranked first with an undefeated 9-0 overall record. Both games will be played at Fauver Stadium.
Anderson can be reached at janderson@campustimes.org.
