ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Visiting Skidmore College remained tied for first place in the Liberty League field hockey standings by posting a 3-2 victory over the University of Rochester at Edwin Fauver Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The Thoroughbreds are 7-6 overall, 3-0 in the league. Skidmore is tied for first place with Ithaca (3-0), which won at Vassar, 3-0 on Saturday afternoon. Rochester is 8-5 overall, 2-1 in the league. Rochester and Vassar are tied for third place in the standings.
The Thoroughbreds scored three straight goals in the first half to rally to a 3-1 advantage after trailing just four minutes into the match. Skidmore's defense withstood a heavy Rochester challenge in the second half, particularly in the fourth quarter. Rochester outshot Skidmore 12-0 in the period but only three of the shots were on target.
Mariah Redler scored two goals for Skidmore and Sofia Marshall had one. Rochester's goals came from Amanda Guido and Catherine Hauser. Maya Haigis assisted on both.
Skidmore goalie Maddy Carre made seven saves and Madeleine Michaels had a defensive save in the fourth period. Rochester goalie Kate Kujawa made four saves.
UR opened the scoring at 3:55. Maya Haigis shot from the top of the circle after a penalty corner and Guido was at the left post to deflect it into the cage. Skidmore equalized at 5:17. Kujawa saved a shot by Morgan Sickels. The ball fell to Redler and she converted the rebound.
Kujawa made three saves in a span of 68 seconds, two of them leading to penalty corners in the second period. On the last one, Carrie Hughes played the PC to Marshall at the top of the circle. She took one step inside, then drove a low shot inside the low left corner.
Skidmore converted another PC for a goal with less than three minutes before intermission. The PC found its way to Sarah Winters. She pushed it forward in the circle to Redler who simply turned and fired from five yards out.
Carre saved three shots in the third, the defense blocked one from Juney Lee, and Hauser's try from the low left block went past the right post. Early in the fourth, Colleen Maillie shot from the edge of the circle. Hauser tried to tip it home and Carre saved the deflection by batting it over the crossbar.
Hauser pulled the Yellowjackets within a goal four minutes into the final period. Haigis took a shot from left wing and Hauser was able to tip it past Carre, cutting the deficit to 3-2. With two minutes remaining, Amanda Strenk's lifted ball struck the crossbar and bounced into the circle on the right side where Skidmore hurriedly cleared it.
Skidmore is at RPI on Oct. 25 for a 4 p.m. game.
