LANCASTER, Pa. – The Ursinus College women's soccer team was unable to overcome a two-goal deficit at halftime falling 2-1 to Franklin & Marshall on Saturday evening.
 
Junior Alex Chalmers scored the Bears lone goal of the contest in the 56^th minute for her second goal of the season.  With the loss, Ursinus fell to 5-6-4 on the season and 1-5-2 in Centennial Conference action, meanwhile the Diplomats improved to 10-2-3 overall and 4-2-2 in conference play.
 
The Diplomats earned the first opportunity of the match in the 3^rd minute as Alison Francis converted on a one-on-one opportunity to give F&M an early lead. On the counterattack, Francis raced past the Bears defense and snuck her shot towards the near post for her sixth goal of the season. Ursinus quickly answered with a shot on goal in the 12^th minute as sophomore Grace Senese had her shot saved by Franklin & Marshall's Emma Nolan. After a Diplomats turnover in the midfield, Senese sent a bouncing shot from distance into the hands of Nolan.
 
In the 21^st minute, F&M fired back-to-back shots on net, but the Bears defense stood tall as junior goalkeeper Kaela Frenchman denied each opportunity. The Diplomats controlled much of the pace of action in the first half and their offense broke through for an insurance goal in the 42^nd minute. Franklin & Marshall's Kate Boujoukos converted on a header after a corner kick from Dahlia Pepe found her inside the box.
 
Early in the second half, the Bears offense started to click earning the first two opportunities of the half. Adriana Careless sent two shots on net in the first seven minutes, but the Diplomats and Nolan in net kept the game scoreless. In the 53^rd minute on the counterattack, the Bears finally broke through as Chalmers cut the deficit to one. Careless created some space outside the box and sent a line drive shot that was tipped by Nolan in net. The rebound found Chalmers cutting towards the back post and she tapped it in the net to swing the momentum in the Bears favor. Each team traded shots over the next ten minutes, before Franklin & Marshall's Sierra Brophy fired a shot on net that was saved by Frenchman in net.
 
Ursinus earned the next opportunity in the 74th minute as Chalmers had her shot blocked and trickled wide of the net. The Bears were awarded a corner kick as junior Hannah Brainsky sent a low arching cross into the box. After a deflection, Chalmers just missed her shot as it soared high over the crossbar. The Diplomats defense stood tall over the last 15 minutes hanging onto their one-goal lead and edging Ursinus 2-1.
 
The Bears finished with six shots in the second half and four corner kick opportunities. Frenchman was credited with nine saves in net, while Nolan was awarded the win in for F&M finishing with three saves.
 
The Bears will return to action on Wednesday with a Centennial Conference matchup against Muhlenberg from Patterson Field at 7:30pm.