COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – A back and forth contest went unfavorably for the Ursinus Field Hockey team as they were edged by No. 11 Messiah 3-2 on Wednesday night at Snell Alumnae Field in non-conference action.
 
 
With the loss the Bears overall record dropped to 3-5 while the Falcons of the MAC Commonwealth improved to 7-2 overall.
 
 
Ursinus started strong as senior Jordan Moore rattled home a goal in the third minute after receiving a field off a penalty corner from classmate Laura Rothschild. Messiah struck back just two minutes later after Ashlyn Smith collected her own rebound to knot the score at one. It was déjà vu for the Bears to open the second quarter as they converted on another penalty corner when sophomore Maeve Montgomery beat Falcons goalkeeper Catie Brubaker from the right side. Her goal came seconds after Brubaker made a stunning save off a shot from sophomore Mary Lauren Franz by batting the ball away while she was falling to her back. The Falcons began to turn up the heat on the Bears as they got off three shots in a two-minute span, but senior goalkeeper Jordan Ulsh kept them off the board and held the advantage into the half.  
 
 
However, it was all Falcons in the third quarter as they held the Bears without a shot and tied the game at two apiece just 3:18 into the second half on a tap in front of the net from a cross from the right. Messiah fed off their momentum in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter and Smith netted her second of the night to put the Falcons up 3-2. Ursinus began to control play following the goal as they earned two penalty corners in the 51st minute but were unable to get a shot on the cage. Ursinus then drew three more penalty corners with just over two minutes left in regulation, gaining a chance to tie the game. Unfortunately for the Bears, only one shot reached the goal during that span which was a point blank shot from senior Lauren Weaver that was kicked away by Brubaker. Moore had a good look at the net with 1:48 left in the fourth quarter before sending the shot just right of the cage.
 
The Falcons held a 16-10 advantage in total shots and a sizable 14-5 edge in shots on goal. Each team earned nine penalty corners in the contest. Ulsh held strong with 11 saves despite the setback in the full 60 minutes. Brubaker made three saves during the full time to earn the win.
 
 
Ursinus returns to action on Saturday, October 1st as they will host Washington College at 12 p.m. in Centennial Conference play.