COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. - Sophomore Amanda Groeling's goal in the third minute of double overtime helped the No. 13 Ursinus Field Hockey team to a 2-1 victory over Lynchburg on Saturday afternoon in non-conference action.


With the win, the Bears improved to 1-2 overall and avenged a 4-3 overtime setback to Lynchburg last season at Liberty University. Meanwhile, the Hornets fall to 2-1 overall.


The Bears came out strong as they got three shots on the cage in the opening three minutes of action. Following a pair of Hornet chances, the Bears cashed in on a penalty corner as sophomore Maeve Montgomery beat the Hornets goalkeeper with a blast from the top of the circle to make it 1-0 in the 13th minute. Senior Lauren Weaver fed Montgomery at the top after Laura Rothschild pushed the ball in from the corner. Bears senior goalkeeper Jordan Ulsh made a stop on a Hornets shot and survived a missed follow through to keep the Bears in front after one. The Hornets got some good looks on the net to start the second quarter, but were unable to break through. With just over a minute left in the first half, the Bears notched back-to-back shots off a penalty corner opportunity that were both turned away by Hornets goalkeeper Kayla Brady.


Lynchburg responded with a strong third quarter that saw them outshoot the Bears 7-1 and earn six penalty corners. The Hornets leveled the game at one following a pass into the box from the right side that got to Emily Yanes, who tapped in an open cage. Sophomore Ellie Bruggeman had the best chance for the Bears in the 39th minute as she broke loose in the left side of the box before having her shot saved by a sprawling Brady. Ulsh then came up huge for the Bears with three saves in the first 10 minutes of the fourth quarter. Senior Jordan Moore had a shot from the top of the box following a penalty corner with just under three minutes left in regulation knocked away by Hornets defender Olivia Muir, sending the matchup between the two schools into overtime for the second-straight year.


Bruggeman nearly won the game for the Bears just 27 seconds into the first overtime period after Groeling found her for a one-timer in front of the cage that was saved by Brady. Weaver then had a chance turned away after receiving a corner pass in the 65th minute of action. Lynchburg's best chance came following a corner with just over two minutes left, but Ulsh sprawled out to save a blast from the top the box and send the game into second overtime. Montgomery had a shot from the top of the box from a corner saved in the opening two minutes of the second overtime before Groeling finally ended it with 7:38 left in the extra period. First-year Gigi Testa brought the ball from the left side across the back line and found Groeling in the middle of the box. Brady tried to cut off Groeling's attempt before she could get a shot off, but was unsuccessful as Groeling got the shot off in the cage as she was falling down. 


The Hornets held a slight 22-20 shot advantage for the game and the Bears edged them in shots on goal at 14-12. Ursinus also held a 13-10 corner advantage over the Lynchburg as well. Ulsh and Brady were brilliant in the cage with each making 11 stops in the full 72:22 of action. 


The Bears return to action on Wednesday, September 14th as they will travel to face Albright at 7:30 p.m.