COLLEGEVILLE, PA. – The Ursinus College field hockey team used a two-goal first quarter to lift them to a 3-2 decision over Washington College on Saturday afternoon.
With the win, the Bears improved to 4-5 overall and 1-1 in Centennial Conference action, meanwhile the Shorewomen sink to 4-5 on the season and 1-1 in conference play.
Ursinus set the tone two minutes into the contest, as senior
Jordan Moore fired a shot wide off a penalty corner opportunity. The Bears were awarded an ensuing corner a minute later, and sophomore
Mary Lauren Franz earned her second goal of the season after a low shot between the legs of Washington's goalie Ava Rivera. Franz's goal was set up by
Maeve Montgomery as her first shot was saved by the Shorewomen's defense.
Washington College answered with four shots over a span of two minutes, but the Bears defense and senior goalkeeper
Jordan Ulsh stood tall denying each opportunity. With under three minutes to play in the first quarter, the Bears once again capitalized on a penalty corner as Moore fired a shot past the Shorewomen's defense to give the Bears a 2-0 lead. Seniors
Sarah Symes and
Laura Rothschild collected an assist on the play.
Ursinus carried the momentum into the second period collecting back-to-back shots on goal, but both were denied by the Shorewomen's defense. Washington College closed out the first half with two shots over the final three minutes, but Ulsh and the Bears defense denied each opportunity.
Just three minutes into the second half, Ursinus would add to their lead as Franz scored her second goal of the contest at the 11:45 mark. On a penalty corner, senior
Lauren Weaver fired a shot that was saved by Rivera in goal. The deflection found Rothschild in front of the net and a slick pass to the back post found Franz wide open. Later in the quarter, Weaver sent a shot on net but was saved by Washington's defense. Franz and sophomore
Amanda Groeling each earned scoring chances later in the period, but a save and a shot wide of the net gave the Bears a 3-0 lead heading into the final stanza.
Washington College answered early in the fourth period as Marycate Anson created space inside the circle and sent a shot on net but was saved by Ulsh in net. The deflection found Anna Harrington and her shot snuck past the Bears defense to cut the deficit to two. The Shorewomen added their final goal of the contest in the closing seconds off a penalty corner opportunity. After a successful push, a shot from Harrington was deflected into the net by Kendal Thomson for the Shorewomen.
The Bears held a 17-12 shot advantage for the game while Washington College held a slight 7-6 edge in penalty corners. Ulsh earned the win net for the Bears collecting eight saves, while Shorewomen's goalkeeper Rivera suffered the loss while earning three saves during 36 minutes of action.
Ursinus will return to action on Wednesday as they travel to Allentown, Pennsylvania for a Centennial Conference matchup with Muhlenberg at 6:30pm.
