Erin Foley was in a flow state.
The URochester third-year attacker woke up and finished her homework early Saturday, allowing her to focus on the field hockey game ahead without worrying about a deadline.
Dancing in the locker room is a pregame ritual for Foley and her teammates, but before the critical match against St. Lawrence University at Fauver Stadium, the music played a little longer.
By the time the Yellowjackets took the field, Foley had found her groove. And she wasn’t done dancing.
On the pitch, Foley put on an unforgettable offensive display, scoring three goals and assisting on another to lead Rochester to a commanding 5–0 win and clinch a Liberty League playoff berth.
Her marquee moment came in the third quarter, when she took the ball from behind midfield and dribbled through defenders before firing the ball past the goalie for her first-ever hat trick.
“Honestly, there wasn’t much going through my head,” Foley said of the moment after the game. “I was kind of just going through the motions, I feel like.”
Despite entering Saturday’s game with a 9–6 overall record, the Yellowjackets had struggled in conference play, winning just two of their first five Liberty League matchups and putting their 13-year postseason streak in jeopardy.
From the moment the game’s starting whistle blew, the Yellowjackets came out buzzing. Barely a minute into the match, sophomore Midfield Sofia Marcotte (6) scored her first goal of the season off a pass through the slot from Foley on a penalty corner.
Foley doubled Rochester’s lead minutes later, capitalizing on a loose rebound and slicing a backhanded shot past the St. Lawrence goalkeeper.
Yellowjackets head coach Wendy Andreatta said after the game that capitalizing on rebounds off St. Lawrence’s first-year Goalie Stella Gizzi (34), was part of her team’s strategy going into the game.
“We talked about the fact that the goalie does give up rebounds, and that a lot of the teams that have played get the initial shot on, but then finish with the rebound,” Andreatta said.
At the end of the first quarter, Rochester controlled the play with six shots to St. Lawrence’s one.
With 12:29 left in the second quarter, the Yellowjackets continued their offensive production, this time with a goal coming from first-year Midfield/Attack Gloria McDonald (25), who knocked down a looping mid-air pass from third-year Midfield Sophia Cuneo (8) into the back of the net.
As time wound down in the half, Foley scored her second goal of the match as she fired in a banger to the left corner from the top of the circle, again, off a rebound from the goalie.
The Saints came out strong to open the second half, generating several scoring opportunities and briefly putting Rochester’s defense on its heels. For a moment, it appeared the Saints had figured out how to dismantle one of Rochester’s main defensive strategies.
But that moment didn’t last long, as with 6:06 remaining in the third quarter, Foley struck again, completing her first collegiate hat trick and extending Rochester’s lead to five.
The Saints defense kept the ‘Jackets at bay for the rest of the game, but at that point the damage had been done, Foley’s hat trick capping off a dominant offensive performance for URochester.
URochester fourth-year defensive leader Cassidy Romano saw the victory as evidence of the Yellowjackets’ potential, fueling their confidence heading into the postseason.
“I think that today was a major breakthrough for us, being able to see that we can follow the game plan,” Romano said. “We can do two-touch hockey, and really beat a team together as a team.”
The Yellowjackets look to carry their momentum into next Saturday’s conference matchup against William Smith College, which holds the same conference record as Rochester.
The winner will earn home-field advantage for a play-in game between the two teams, with a spot in the four-team Liberty League tournament on the line.
Despite the team’s struggles in conference play, Romano remains confident in their postseason potential.
“I’ve never doubted from the second we started the season that we have a shot at it all,” Romano said.
