BRYN ATHYN, PA. – Senior Marco Grenda scored the game-winner in the 49^th minute as the Ursinus College men's soccer team defeated Bryn Athyn 2-1 on Wednesday night from Nelson Field.
 
With the win, Ursinus improved to 2-6-2 on the season while the Lions fell to 3-6 overall.
 
"I'm very proud of the team tonight," Head Coach Daniel Clitnovici said. "We played a complete 90 minutes and generated a lot of offensive opportunities. It's frustrating not adding a few more goals but what's most important for us is that we completed 90 minutes on the front foot. I was impressed with the team's performance; we have some young players out there that continue growing each game and I hope we can bring the same attitude into this weekend."
 
The Bears jumped on the board first in the 19^th minute as senior Aidan O'Malley scored his first goal of the season. A pass from the far side of the field found O'Malley in the box and his first shot was deflected by Troy Billingslea for the Lions. The deflection trickled back to O'Malley whose shot found the back of the net giving Ursinus a 1-0 lead. Ursinus continued the offensive pressure, creating two more opportunities in the 29^th minute as Alex Woll and Colin Deal each earned chances. Woll's shot missed wide of the net while Deal's shot was saved by the Lions netminder.
 
The Lions tied the game at one a piece just before halftime as a through ball from Leo Pineda found Justin Lykunov crashing towards the net. Lykunov's shot deflected off Bears' junior goalie Kirk Ransome and found the back of the net. Ursinus responded early in the second half as Vinny Carosella assisted Grenda on his team-high third goal of the season. A cross from first-year Reed Grant was sent into the box from the far side of field finding a sliding Carosella at the near post. Carosella pass snuck by the Lions defense and found Grenda on the opposite post to give the Bears a 2-1 advantage.
 
In the 58^th minute, Bryn Athyn's Andre Fisher fired a shot on net but was saved by Bears' goalie Peter Schoenberg to keep the lead at one. Ursinus responded in the 63^rd minute with a shot on goal from first-year Colin Deal after a corner kick, but Deal's shot was saved by the Lions goalkeeper. Ten minutes later, the Bears fired back-to-back shots on net from junior Tommy Mollis and Grant with both being saved by the Lions defense.
 
Ursinus continued the pressure into the final minutes of the match as Grenda and Patrick Tormey each earned shots with the first being blocked by the Lions defense. Ransome and Peter Schoenberg split time in net for the Bears combining for two saves, meanwhile for the Lions Billingslea earned 16 saves on the evening. Ursinus held a sizable advantage in shots on goal 18-3 while earning a 7-1 edge on corner kick opportunities.  
 
The Bears will return to action on Saturday as they host Haverford for a Centennial Conference matchup at 12pm from Patterson Field.