PITTSFORD, N.Y. – The St. John Fisher College field hockey suffered its second consecutive setback on Wednesday night after falling to the visiting University of Rochester Yellowjackets, 2-1, in a non-conference bout inside Growney Stadium. With the loss, Fisher slipped to 3-5 on the year while Rochester improved to 7-2.
After a scoreless first quarter of play, Rochester would take control in the second period and earned three corners in a span of four minutes. The Yellowjackets' persistence paid off in the 20th minute when
Sophia Trozzi turned away a shot only to have it bounce back into play for Rochester to slap into the back corner of the goal to open up a one-goal cushion.
The visitors doubled their lead just six minutes into the third frame after finding a loose ball in a scramble in front of the Cardinals' cage and thumping it home for a 2-0 advantage.
Trailing by a pair of goals, Fisher halved the deficit in the 40th minute after
Bre Socker worked her way up the sideline before crossing it over to
Gianna Palma whose shot found its mark to cut the gap to one heading into the final quarter.
With just 15 minutes left in regulation, Fisher began to play with a renewed sense of urgency and drew a corner in the 55th minute where
Audrey Grieb played it in to
Alyssa Andres who bounced one off the Yellowjackets' keeper's pads before the team was awarded another corner opportunity just 18 seconds later. Grieb inserted the ball to Palma who smacked a shot just wide as Rochester took over possession with five minutes still showing on the clock.
As the period wound down, Rochester looked to add to its lead after being awarded a penalty shot, but Trozzi came up with a big save down the stretch to keep Fisher's hopes alive. With just three minutes left, Fisher looked to regain control, but was never able to work its way into Rochester territory as the final horn blew on a 2-1 decision.
In all, Fisher was credited with having taken nine shots led by Socker who finished the game with four. Palma had three shots in the loss while
Rileigh Luste and Andres each had one shot overall.
Trozzi fell to 3-5 in goal for Fisher despite making 10 saves over 60 minutes of play.
The Cardinals will take a break from non-conference action and jump back into Empire 8 play at 6 p.m. on Friday when they travel to Troy to take on the Russell Sage Gators.
