GAMBIER, Ohio –The Kenyon College Ladies field hockey team put forth a strong defensive effort Sunday in its home-opening game against the University of Rochester. The visiting Yellow Jackets, however, took advantage of one small Kenyon misstep and logged a 1-0 non-conference win at McBride Field.

The lone goal of the game occurred with 16:32 remaining on the second-half clock. That's when Rochester's Michelle Relin was driving up the left side of the field and got tangled up with a Kenyon defender, who fell to the turf. That gave Relin a clear path toward the Kenyon goal. She moved forward and launched a shot toward the far post, where it was met by teammate Megan Keil. Keil had a Kenyon defender draped all over her, but still managed to get a stick on the ball and redirect it into the Kenyon cage.

Kenyon (0-2) had a golden opportunity to tie the game up with about 11 minutes left. Junior Rachel Hall started a penalty corner by playing the ball into senior Alex Bair. Bair collected the pass and fired a shot into the Rochester cage. While the Ladies celebrated what they thought was the game-tying goal, the officials waived it off because the ball was not within the shooting circle.

Rochester (2-0) ended up building a slight 18-14 advantage in shots, but the Kenyon defense, backed by goalkeeper Sydney Carney-Knisely kept the Ladies in the game. Carney-Knisely ended up making ten saves against the Yellow Jackets, who last season dealt the Ladies a 5-0 loss.