ROCHESTER, NY – The Cortland women's soccer team dropped a road contest at nationally 24th-ranked Rochester by a 2-0 final score on Friday evening. Rochester jumps to 1-0 and Cortland drops to 0-1 after the season opener for both sides.
 
Tyla Vuotto (Lynbrook) tallied five shot attempts, including three on goal, for the Red Dragons. Leah Rehm (East Syracuse/East Syracuse-Minoa) added two shots on goal. Rebecca Nazer (Woodstock, CT/Woodstock Academy) made two saves in goal for Cortland.
 
Natalie Santangelo had a hand in both of Rochester's goals, scoring one goal and assisting on the other. Remi Cherkas scored the other goal for the Yellowjackets, and Sydney Moore stopped five shots in goal for the shutout.
 
The first shot attempt of the contest didn't come until the 10th minute, a shot off target by the Yellowjackets. Cortland responded with two shots in the next two minutes, with Vuotto firing wide and Rehm following with a shot that was saved by Moore.
 
Each team had one shot on goal for the remainder of the half, as the game remained scoreless into halftime.
 
Just minutes into the second half, a foul by a Cortland defender in the 18-yard box led to a penalty kick for Rochester, with Santangelo firing the hosts into the lead from the penalty spot in the 49th minute.  
 
Rochester doubled its lead in the 56th minute, as Cherkas knocked a header into the bottom left corner of the net off a cross from the right side by Santangelo.
 
Cortland attempted to mount a comeback, but could not break through against the Rochester defense. A shot by Rehm in the 61st minute was saved, and Moore stopped two shots from Vuotto in the 70th minute and 72nd minute.
 
Cortland nearly broke through in the 89th minute when Piper Klammer (Mahopac) fired a shot just off the right post, but the Yellowjackets held on to keep the clean sheet and claim the victory.