COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – The Ursinus College women's lacrosse team was unable to overcome a fourth quarter deficit as they were defeated 14-11 by Stockton University on Wednesday night in non-conference action.
 


Sophomore Julia McCann led the Bears with a career-high four goals while classmate Grace Lynch recorded her second hat trick of the season with three goals and an assist. McCann shined throughout the contest grabbing 11 draws which ranks second most in program history. She nearly tied the record of 12 which was set by Kaci McNeave back in 2018. On defense, first-year Kate Adams forced three turnovers and collected two ground balls, while first-year Meghan Vizian tallied two groundballs and two points behind a goal and an assist.


 
Each team was credited with a turnover in their opening possession of the contest with Stockton striking first with a goal at the 11:13-mark of the first period. Under a minute later, the Ospreys added their second goal of the night as Mary McLaughlin netted a goal at the 10:36-mark to take a 2-0 advantage. Ursinus would answer over the next four minutes tying the contest at two apiece as junior Mary Michaud put the Bears on the board with a free-position goal. Later in the period, Lynch drew three defenders behind the net and found a wide-open senior Reilly Morgan in front of the net for her first goal of the contest. After a Stockton goal, the Bears responded as McCann scored her first goal during a free position opportunity to the game at three apiece. McCann split two defenders and snuck her shot in between the legs of the Ospreys goaltender with 2:40 remaining in the opening period.


 
Ursinus took their first lead of the game at the 1:43-mark as sophomore Maeve Leonzi found Lynch on a fast break opportunity in front of the net and she sizzled a shot past Stockton's defense. Just a minute later, the Ospreys answered back in the closing seconds of the quarter to tie the game at four a piece heading into the second stanza.


 
The Bears defense stepped up in the opening four minutes of the second quarter denying three shots from the Stockton offense. Senior goalkeeper Alexa Machado collected two saves over the four minutes of scoreless action and kept the score tied after saving an Osprey's free position opportunity shot. The offense rewarded her efforts by regaining a 5-4 lead at the 10:25-mark as first year Meghan Vizian netted her first goal of the contest by scoring with a low left shot on a free position opportunity. After a Bears turnover, Stockton responded with back-to-back goals over a minute time span to regain a 6-5 lead with 6:33 remaining in the half. The Bears answered right back scoring two goals within thirty seconds of each other to capture a 7-6 lead at the 5:31-mark. Michaud tied the game for the Bears as she caught a pass with her back to the net and created space between her and the defender sneaking her shot past the Osprey's netminder. Vizian won the ensuing draw control for Ursinus, and the Bears found McCann who cut between two defenders before sending a shot off the post for her second goal of the game. Each defense would force a turnover over the next few minutes of action, but the Ospreys responded with back-to-back goals to regain an 8-7 lead with 25 seconds remaining in the half. McCann won the ensuing draw control and was rewarded seconds later as she sent a low bouncing shot past the Ospreys defense to tie the game at eight a piece heading into halftime.



The Ospreys opened the second half by regaining a 9-8 lead as they capitalized off a Bears turnover, but Ursinus answered under a minute later as McCann registered her fourth goal of the game at the 11:27-mark. Stockton regained the momentum of the contest at the 8:19-mark as they reclaimed a 10-9 advantage with a goal of from McLaughlin. Each defense denied multiple offensive opportunities over the remaining eight minutes as the Bears went into the fourth quarter with a one goal deficit.


 
The Bears answered back in the opening minutes of the final stanza Vizian found Lynch infront of the net and she capitalized on an open look. Stockton scored on their next two possessions to take back a 12-10 lead with 10:55 remaining in the period. Machado and the defense denied the next shot attempt from the Ospreys and bounced back with a goal as first-year Ashely Noto found Lynch for her third goal of the game. Stockton scored the final two goals of the game over the remaining seven minutes to capture a 14-11 road victory.

 
 
Stockton held a 27-21 advantage in shots while finishing at 80% (16-of-20) on clear attempts. Ursinus finished with a clear percentage of 60% (12-of-20) with the Ospreys holding a 22-17 edge in turnovers. Stockton's McLaughlin finished with a game-high five goals while goalkeeper Jordan Hawkins earned the win in net collecting two saves over 30 minutes of action.
 


The Bears will return to action on Saturday as they host Arcadia University for a 1pm tilt at Patterson Field.