CHESTERTOWN, MD. – In their Centennial Conference opener, the Ursinus College women's lacrosse team fell 15-9 to Washington College on Saturday afternoon from Roy Kirby Stadium.
 

With the loss, the Bears fall to 3-5 overall and start Centennial Conference action 0-1. Meanwhile the Shorewomen improved to 5-3 on the season and start CC play 1-0.

 
Sophomore Julia McCann paced the Bears offense with four goals while classmate Grace Lynch netted three points behind two goals and an assist. Junior Bev Lewis led the defense with three ground balls, and one caused turnover.

 
Ursinus jumped on the board first as first-year Ashley Noto found Reilly Morgan for the first goal of the game at the 13:49-mark of the first period. Noto made a move behind the net before finding a slashing Morgan at the back post to give Ursinus a 1-0 lead. The Shorewomen answered just three minutes later with a goal from Morgan Sutherland to tie the game at one a piece with 10:59 remaining in the opening period. Each defense stepped up over the next eight minutes of action as neither team could capitalize on scoring opportunities. Senior goalkeeper Alexa Machado and the Bears defense collected five saves over the eight minutes of scoreless action. Washington College finally broke through scoring three-straight goals with under three minutes to play and led 4-1 with 2:09-remaining in the quarter. Ursinus answered with a goal in the closing seconds of the period as McCann netted her first off a free position opportunity cutting the deficit to two.

 
The Shorewomen added the first three goals of the second period extending their advantage to five at the 9:09-mark. Washington College capitalized from two woman-up opportunities after two yellow cards were called on senior Julie Cherneskie. After nearly seven minutes of scoreless play, the Bears capitalized on a woman-up opportunity as senior Emma Wood recorded her third goal of the season. The Shorewomen responded with a goal of their own with 1:03 remaining in the half, but Ursinus would answer with a goal from McCann cutting their deficit to four at the break.

 
Ursinus grabbed the opening draw control in the second half, but a turnover sparked a 2-0 run from the Shorewomen as they scored back-to-back goals and held a 10-4 lead at the 13:30-mark. Washington College connected on another scoring opportunity at the 10:15-mark as Mia Salvatierra found Ashley Devlin to increase the Shorewomen lead to seven. The Bears responded with a goal from Lynch at the 7:41-mark as junior Gabrielle Liott assisted on the scoring opportunity. After Washington College netted a goal at the 6:51-mark, the Bears bounced back with a goal of their own at the 5:52-mark from McCann to cut the deficit to six at the end of the third quarter.

 
The Bears opened the first score of the final stanza as Lynch capitalized on a woman-up opportunity and a free position shot as the goal cut the Bears deficit to five. Washington College's Morgan Sutherland connected on a scoring opportunity at the 12:56-mark, but the Bears quickly responded with a goal of their own with 11:05 remaining in the quarter. The Shorewomen closed out the contest on a 2-1 run for the 15-9 conference victory.

 
Washington College held a 44-30 edge in shots while converting on 93.7% (15-of-16) of their clear attempts and holding the Bears to a clear rate of 68.4% (13-of-19). Washington's Sydney Wingate earned the win in net collecting seven saves while Machado was dealt the loss for Ursinus after recording a season-high 16 saves.

 
The Bears will return to action on Wednesday, as they host Gwynedd Mercy for a non-conference matchup starting at 4pm from Patterson Field.

 
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