BALTIMORE, Md. – A valiant comeback came up just short for the Ursinus Field Hockey team as they were edged by fourth-ranked Johns Hopkins on Thursday evening in the Centennial Conference semifinals.
 
 
With the loss, the Bears will conclude their 2022 season with a 10-9 overall mark. Meanwhile, the top seed Blue Jays improve to 15-3 overall and will advance to the Centennial Conference finals against Bryn Mawr.
 
 
Johns Hopkins hit the ground running in the opening minutes as they quickly went up 2-0 in the fourth minute behind a pair of goals in a span of 1:10. The Blue Jays held the Bears without a shot in the first quarter and continued to control play in their attacking zone by recording three shots plus earning three penalty corners in the first six minutes of the second quarter. The Blue Jays extended their lead to 3-0 in the 21st minute of action on a redirected shot from a penalty corner. Following the third Hopkins goal, the Bears finally gained some traction and began gaining chances in their attacking end. The pressure paid off when sophomore Mary Lauren Franz scored off a rebound from an Amanda Groeling shot with 45 seconds left in the second quarter to make it 3-1. It was the first goal that the Blue Jays allowed to a Centennial Conference opponent all season and the first since September 17th against Lynchburg.
 
 
The Bears fended off three Blue Jays penalty corners in the third quarter and sophomore Maeve Montgomery kept the deficit at two with a defensive save in the 43rd minute. Ursinus struck back by earning four penalty corners in the final 1:03 of the third quarter but were unable to add a goal during that span. However, the Bears did notch a second goal with just 6:02 left in regulation when Montgomery worked inside the circle from a penalty corner and beat Blue Jays goalkeeper Alexis Loder. Unfortunately for the Bears, that would be the final shot they would record the rest of the game as the Blue Jays held on for the win.
 
 
Johns Hopkins held a 23-10 overall shot advantage for the game and an 11-4 edge in shots on goal. The Blue Jays also held a slight 13-9 edge in corners as well. Ulsh suffered the loss and made seven saves during the full 60 minutes. Loder made a pair of saves during the full game action.