GETTYSBURG, Pa. – The Ursinus Field Hockey team locked up a home Centennial Conference Tournament first round game by defeating Gettysburg 3-0 on Friday afternoon in their regular season finale.
With the win, the Bears improved to 9-8 overall and to 6-4 in Centennial Conference action while clinching the No. 4 seed. The Bears win also locked in their first round opponent which will be Washington College as the No. 5 seed. Meanwhile, the Bullets conclude their 2022 season with a 3-14 overall record and a 1-9 mark in Centennial action.
Ursinus went on the attack early and got on the board in the fourth minute to go up 1-0 when senior Addie Plummer tipped in a pass from sophomore Mary Lauren Franz for her first goal of the season. The Bears had a chance to extend their lead with 22 seconds left in the first quarter when they were awarded a penalty stroke, but first-year Lauren Breisch had her shot attempt saved. The second quarter saw the teams trade multiple chances, but Ursinus held its 1-0 lead into halftime.
Gettysburg had their biggest offensive push of the game in the 38th minute when they got three shots on the Bears net in a 13 second span, but senior goalkeeper Jordan Ulsh stood up to the task and turned away all three shots. A minute later, senior Jordan Moore extended the Bears lead to 2-0 with her 16th goal of the season after knocking in a pass from the right side from Franz. Sophomore Amanda Groeling then made it a 3-0 game in the 43rd minute after collecting a rebound from a saved shot from junior Ellie Bruggeman. In the fourth quarter, the Bears were unable to further extend their lead but held the Bullets without a shot by controlling play in their attacking end.
Each team tallied 11 shots in the contest and the Bears held a 18-9 edge in shots and a 15-6 advantage in shots on goal. Ursinus also held a 9-6 advantage in penalty corners after earning seven of them in the second half. Ulsh made six saves in her second shutout of the season while Bullets goalkeeper Emilia Saccento suffered the loss after making 11 saves in a valiant effort during the full 60 minutes.
Ursinus will host Washington College in the first round of the Centennial Conference tournament on Tuesday, November 1st. The time of the game will be determined following a pre-tournament meeting.