The UR field hockey team went 2-1 this week with convincing wins over Union College and SUNY-Brockport. Their sole loss came at the hands of a skilled Skidmore College team.
With each game improvement is noticeable in the team’s performance. “The team has raised it’s level of play. They are competing with teams that are ranked in the top 20 and getting some significant region wins,” head coach Michelle Andre said.
On Tuesday, the Yellowjackets began a five game homestead with a 5-0 victory over Brockport. The game against Brockport is always a heated battle, but on this day UR showed up and showed up big. “We are always competitive with them, and after last year’s double overtime loss we were out to even the score,” senior co-captain Brenna Simons said.
“Against Brockport we knew they would run at us and be physical, and we remained poised and finished every play including putting the ball in the cage,” Andre said. Putting the ball in the cage was not a problem on this night. The scoring just came.
UR was led by junior forward Kaitlin Poeth and senior forward Nicole Ketterer. Each player sparked the UR offense production with two goals a piece. The fifth goal was put in by freshman forward Sally Jensen. Poeth added to her scoring by providing two assists in the game. Sophomore forward Ashley Kahan also had a big game, and was credited with three assists on the evening.
Brockport tried attacking, but the UR defense was too solid. Junior goalie Pamela Sheffield made three saves in goal, to post her fourth shutout of the season. The shutout can be attributed to Sheffield’s performance as well as to the team’s strong defensive effort.
With the win over Brockport, the Yellowjackets improved to 8-7 on the season. The team will look to end the season with a winning record, but will need to stay focused. “They realize everything is in steps, and you can’t look beyond what you have in front of you and they have been doing a good job of it,” Andre said. The next task at hand for UR is a contest against SUNY-Geneseo on Saturday at 11 a.m. at Fauver Stadium.
Fitzsimmons can be reached at afitzsimmons@campustimes.org.
