In a week of endings, UR endured a disappointing final game of the season against Houghton College’s Highlanders on Tuesday, Oct. 28. The Highlanders scored once a few minutes into the first half and once more in the final two minutes before the whistle blew for halftime. In her last game as a member of the Yellowjackets, senior goalkeeper Pamela Sheffield made 10 saves.
“It didn’t go as well as we wanted it to, it was a disappointing way to end the season,” senior Shawnessy Dusseau said.
The Yellowjackets honored their seniors on Senior Day at Fauver Stadium on Oct. 25 in true UR style, earning victory and showing everyone they knew how to own the field. With a 3-1 lead over Union College’s Dutchwomen, the team showed that the last home appearance their seniors would have would be a worthy one, coming back from a goal early on in the first half by Union to take the lead at 2-1 by halftime. Sophomore Courtney Nussbaum took the first of three goals shortly after Union’s opening score. At 11:34 Dusseau took a pass from fellow senior Jessica Cassavaugh and netted the team’s second goal of the half.
Senior Kaitlin Poeth knocked in an assist by freshman Erin Coughlin at 15:30 in the second half to secure the Yellowjacket’s victory. Guarding the net, Sheffield had two saves for UR.
“It was really nice and it was good for us, most of our families were there and everything so it was great,” Dusseau said.
The seniors were also honored before the game began with a showcase of their accomplishments particularly in their past year when they helped secure a place for UR at the New York State Championship semifinals. The six seniors Kelly Melcher, Jen Knipe, Dusseau, Cassavaugh and Sheffield spent four years showing their commitment to field hockey and fought through their final match on home turf, earning the ultimate reward in victory.
Skidmore College’s Thoroughbreds took the game against UR on Oct. 24 with a 2-0 lead. Though the game was a difficult one for the Yellowjackets, with their opponents ranked seventh in the Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association, the team played well and maintained a good outlook.
“We played well against Skidmore even if we didn’t win, it was definitely a good conference weekend. We played well in all our games,” Dusseau said. The team did its best but was unable to conquer the Thoroughbreds, with the six saves by Sheffield and two defensive saves by Melcher the most notable actions in the game. UR was outshot 19-6 with the goals taking place one in each half, at 27:22 and then again at 50:10.
While the Skidmore game lowered the Yellowjacket’s record to 7-9 overall and 2-4 in the UCAA, the team’s impressive performance at Fauver Stadium on Oct. 25 brought the record to 8-9 overall with a 3-4 record in the UCAA. UR’s loss ended their season with an 8-10 overall record.
Rigby can be reached at krigby@campustimes.org.
