The UR field hockey team took a tough loss against Muhlenberg College Saturday. The scoring began with a goal in the opening minutes by Muhlenberg. The game was hard fought on both ends of the field for the remainder of the first half.
At halftime Muhlenberg led 1-0. Former All-American coach Michelle Andre reminded the team to protect the middle and fix mental mistakes. With thirteen minutes remaining in the second half, UR tied the game at one goal a piece. Junior Kelly Melcher ripped the shot past the Muhlenberg keeper, off of an assist by sophomore Erin Charnow. Unfortunately the comeback was short lived, as the opposition broke through the Rochester defense and scored in the next minute.
Down 2-1, with two minutes left in the game, the Yellowjackets set up a penalty corner, which created a scoring opportunity for sophomore Ashley Kahan. The one-timer was brilliantly deflected by the goalie, sealing the 2-1 victory for Muhlenberg.
Despite the loss, the Yellowjackets fought hard and never gave up. This is a trend that Andre has seen in all four games this season. Despite the team’s youth and inexperience, Andre looks to turn their season around and finish with a winning record. “By working on fundamentals and fixing mental mistakes, the team certainly has the drive and skill level necessary to compete,” Andre said. “It was the mental lapses that lost the game for us, we had lapses, we scored, but we could not keep them from scoring.”
During Wednesday’s game, Nazareth came to play, but theYellowjackets had a mission of their own. The action started when UR stole the opening ball, drove down the field and attacked the goal on five consecutive penalty corners. However, it was not until the closing minutes of the half that the hard work and determination paid off. In the waning moments, Kahan scored the lone goal of the first half, off an assist by senior Nicole Ketterer.
During halftime, Andre emphasized the need for her team to stick to the gameplan and play within themselves. “We talked about forcing them out, and protecting the middle, but most of all, we needed to finish.”
Heeding the advice the of first-year coach the team came out fired up. As soon as the second half began, UR was on the move and a penalty stroke by junior Shawnessy Dusseau resulted in the second and final goal of the game, resulting in a 2-0 win for the Yellowjackets. Junior goalie Pam Sheffield played a solid game in between the pipes, earning her second shutout of the season, lifting the jackets to 2-3 on the year.
UR will look to improve to .500 when they travel to Utica for their next game Sunday.
Berkowitz can be reached at sberkowitz@campustimes.org.
