Christian Cieri, Staff Illustrator
After a 5-0 loss to Ursinus College in the Elite 8 round of the NCAA tournament on Sunday the University of Rochester field hockey team’s season ended.
After an incredible year, the ‘Jackets finished with a final record of 18-6, and the fourth-ranked Ursinus moved to 19-3 as they advance to the tournament’s Final Four.
This was the ‘Jackets first appearance in the tournament since 2012, when they also fell in the quarterfinals.
Ursinus was an offensive force on the field. They totaled an impressive 22 shots on goal, while Rochester only fired back two of their own.
Both of Rochester’s shots on goal came from senior All-American Michelle Relin. She finished the season with 51 total points. Relin scored 22 goals, and tallied seven total assists. Since she began playing at UR, Relin has started every game and scored 72 goals. Although her career ended on a loss, she will go down as one of the best players in UR history, holding multiple records, including total goals scored.
Rochester’s senior All-American goalie Tara Lamberti had 17 saves against Ursinus, letting in five. Like Relin, she will be remembered as one of UR’s best all-time players, ranked second in save percentage in Division III. She started every game her junior and senior season, playing over 1,000 minutes between those two years alone.
Junior Sayaka Abe, Relin and Lamberti were all named First Team All-Liberty League. This was Relin’s fourth time garnering this honor. Lamberti was additionally named Liberty League Defensive Player of the Year for the second year in a row.
Juniors Callie Fisher and Tiffany White were named Second Team All-Liberty League and Honorable Mention, respectively. Relin and Lamberti were selected to play in the Division III senior all-star game this weekend in Virginia.
Lewis is a member of the class of 2017.
