The women?s soccer team extended its winning streak to 10 games before receiving a wake-up call from the Union Dutchwomen.
UR recorded its fifth consecutive shutout, 2-0 beating St. John Fisher College Friday.
Freshman sweeper Sarah Tarka scored the first goal off a corner kick from senior stopper Jen Seferiadis 19 minutes into the first half.
Tarka received the corner at the back post and sent the ball ricocheting off the crossbar and back to herself before putting it away in the lower left corner.
Freshman striker Kristin Kelly headed a corner from Seferiadis into the net 10 minutes later to help UR improve to 10-2 and move up to 15th in the national rankings.
?Taking the corner kicks is probably the easy part,? Seferiadis said.
?People have been doing a good job crashing the net and doing whatever it takes to get the ball in the goal.?
Since losing their first two games of the season, the Yellowjackets have recorded seven shutouts and have outscored their opponents 25-5.
?A lot of it has to do with everyone defending all over the field,? head coach Terry Gurnett said. ?The only way you consistently have shutouts in soccer is if you play team defense well.?
UR?s defense is composed of one player from each class and has molded into a near-impenetrable unit over the season. UR has nearly 200 more shots, at 276-78, than its opponents this season.
?We knew [Tarka] was a really good player, but she?s surprised us all with her composure back there,? Gurnett said. ?[Sophomore] Jenica Schmidt and [junior] Amy Kelmenson are outstanding marking backs.?
Seferiadis, the senior on the defense and one of the team?s three captains, is also a key on offense with six goals and five assists.
?Jen hunts the ball for us,? Gurnett said. ?So much of our offense begins with her because she wins the ball for us and then it?s her job to get it to the right person.?
Kelly also scored the first goal in UR?s 3-0 victory over Ithaca on Wednesday, Oct. 10 off a corner from Seferiadis.
Starting forwards Collins and Christine Sipala, a senior captain, have combined with freshmen substitutes Kelly and Portia Bridges to score 15 of UR?s 26 goals this season.
?The great thing is that they have four very distinct styles,? Gurnett said. ?Christine and Ali will both really work a defense hard in their way and then the defense will have to rework its style because [Kelly and Bridges] bring different qualities.?
UR?s offense failed and its vaunted defense had one late lapse in a 1-0 loss to Union Tuesday.
The Yellowjackets outshot Union 13-9, but Union scored with 4:24 left in the first half.
?I thought we were kind of flat,? Barritt said. ?I think we were a little bit content with our 10-game winning streak.?
Union, ranked 13th in the nation, beat UR last year on a free kick in overtime.
?We just didn?t respond accordingly,? Barritt said. ?If we were at our best. We definitely could have beaten them.?
?You obviously don?t like losing, but it could definitely have some benefit to give us a kick in the butt for this weekend,? Barritt said.
UR plays Washington University at 8 p.m. Friday and then takes on the University of Chicago at 10 a.m. Sunday at Fauver Stadium.
If the Yellowjackets win both games, they automatically earn a bid in the NCAA Tournament.
Jacobs can be reached at bjacobs@campustimes.org.
