From University of Rochester Athletics
Rochester scored one goal in each half to emerge with a 2-0 victory over Illinois Wesleyan in the men's soccer opener for both institutions on Friday evening.
The victory came in the first round of the Flower City Classic. On Saturday, Illinois Wesleyan will play St. John Fisher College at 4 pm in Fauver Stadium while Rochester takes on Misericordia at 7 pm. In Friday's first game. St. John Fisher scored two late goals to defeat Misericordia, 2-0.
Redd Brown picked up the shutout win for the Yellowjackets (1-0). He made three saves in what was best described as a high-pressure defensive battle. Rochester took six shots, IWU took five shots. IWU's Alex Ruckstaetter made one save. The Titans are 0-1.
Geoffrey Rouin had the first Rochester goal, scored at 32:34. Alex DiPerna scored the second goal, this one at 61:28. Cristian Baltier assisted on the Rouin goal.
UR got to a loose ball, collected by Nate Leopold on right wing late in the first half. He angled a crossfield pass to Baltier on the right side. Baltier took a couple of dribbles, then chipped the ball back the other way, finding Rouin who headed it into the lower left hand corner.
IWU had two good chances in the first 14 minutes. Five minutes into the match, a long free kick was played upfield, finding Keagan James in the middle. His header for the top left corner was saved by Brown. Ten minutes later, the Titans intercepted a Rochester clearing attempt. The ball came to Orion Marty who blazed a shot over the crossbar from the top of the penalty area.
In the 40th minute, down 1-0, Ryan Gibbs took a long throwin along the left sideline. It bounced off a series of heads inside the crease before Rochester headed it out for a corner kick – and then cleared the ensuing corner.
One minute into the second half, IWU was denied its equalizer thanks to a good save by Brown and a heads-up reaction from one of the backs. The Titans stormed the penalty area. James' shot from 12 yards was blocked by Brown who then fell to the turf. The followup by Marty was cleared off the line by Lasha Alkhazishvili.
Rochester doubled its lead at 61:28. The Yellowjackets took a long free kick from the right sideline, about 15 yards over midfield. The ball angled into the box as blue shirts charged the goal. Ruckstaetter read it correctly, coming off the line and leaping to catch the cross. But in a sea of bodies, he fell to the ground and the ball popped free. DiPerna reached it first and he slid it into the open net.