Aaron Schafer, Photo Editor
Ranked 14th in the nation, UR’s field hockey team came into their weekend road trip with a great deal of confidence. At 13-2 on the season, the ‘Jackets have been cruising through their schedule and appeared to be in great shape for at least a share of the best record in the Liberty League. But after visiting Skidmore College and St. Lawrence University, UR’s momentum came to a screeching halt as the team dropped both contests.
As bad as the weekend went for UR, however, the resilient squad bounced back on Tuesday, Oct. 29 to trounce Elmira College.
On Friday, Oct. 25 the ‘Jackets travelled to Saratoga Springs to face Skidmore. The Thoroughbreds, ranked 18th in the country, proved to be up to the task of taking on UR, jumping out to an early lead that they would never give up.
Skidmore scored twice in the first five minutes of the game, with all-time goal leader Kelly Blackhurst knocking in her twentieth of the season before teammate Sam Skott followed suit.
Ten minutes later, the ‘Jackets cut the lead in half after sophomore Michelle Relin scored her team-leading 15th goal of the year.
Almost the entire rest of the first half would be dominated by Skidmore, who scored twice more to go up 4-1. UR senior captain Katie Flaschner managed to keep her team in the game before halftime, though, scoring her sixth goal of the season.
In the second half, despite another goal from UR at 42:26 to bring themselves within one goal, Skidmore would tighten up their defense and coast to the 4-3 victory.
It was a quick turnaround for the ‘Jackets as they took on St. Lawrence on Saturday, Oct. 26. The Saints, having already been eliminated from postseason contention, had little to play for. Despite this, the home team embraced their role as spoiler and shocked the ‘Jackets.
In the first half, the only goal was scored by St. Lawrence senior Grace O’Neil, who put a rebound past sophomore goaltender Tara Lamberti at 26:17.
The second half begun with two more goals for the Saints in the first ten minutes, grabbing a 3-0 lead and putting the ‘Jackets backs against the wall. While Flaschner was able to record her second goal of the weekend, it would not be enough, as UR fell 3-1.
The two losses were the team’s first to Liberty League opponents this year, having previously won every intra-conference game they had played so far.
As poorly as the weekend went for the ‘Jackets, the team responded in a big way on Tuesday, Oct. 29 at home under the lights of Fauver Stadium.
Rochester dominated Elmira College for the game’s entirety, outshooting the visitors 41-10 in a 7-0 shutout.
Sophomore Michelle Relin scored her team-leading 16th and 17th goals, while junior Gina Cunningham scored two goals of her own. Also scoring was Freshman Natalie Drelles, whose second half goal was the first of her college career.
UR will finish their regular season on Saturday, Nov. 2 when they host SUNY Geneseo on senior day.
The team will begin postseason play on Friday, Nov. 6 when they take on William Smith College in opening round of the Liberty League tournament.
Shapiro is a member of the class of 2016.
