ALLENTOWN, Pa. – An impressive fourth quarter saw the Ursinus College women's lacrosse team use an 8-1 run to capture a 23-13 victory over Muhlenberg College on Wednesday evening.  
 

With the victory, the Bears improved to 8-8 overall and 4-4 in Centennial Conference action, meanwhile the Mules fall to 11-4 on the season and 4-4 in conference play.  
 

Sophomore Grace Lynch led the offense with five goals and one assist, while junior Mary Michaud tallied six points behind two goals and four assists. Senior Reilly Morgan netted five goals tying a career best, it is her third time this season scoring five goals in a game. Sophomore Julia McCann, and first-years Ashley Noto and Meghan Vizian each collected four points behind scoring three goals and recording one assist. Senior Julie Cherneskie paced the defense finishing with two caused turnovers, while senior goalkeeper Alexa Machado finished with 11 saves.  
 

Muhlenberg scored the first goal of the contest just two minutes into the game, but the Bears tied the game at one a piece with a goal from sophomore Maeve Leonzi at the 11:33-mark of the first period. The Mules bounced back with two consecutive goals to regain a 3-1 advantage as Muhlenberg's Nicole Steiner capitalized on back-to-back opportunities. Ursinus answered at the 5:56-mark, as Michaud drew the attention from the Mules defense and found a wide-open Morgan cutting toward the net for a great scoring opportunity. After a Mules goal, the Bears recorded the final goal of the quarter as first-year Skyler Bogdan assisted on Morgan's second goal of the game with 2:16 remaining in the period.  
 

The Bears offense came alive in the opening minutes of the second period, scoring four consecutive goals to capture a 7-4 lead with 9:44 remaining in the period. The Bears won three of the first four draw controls as Lynch, McCann, Morgan, and Vizian each capitalized from scoring opportunities during the run. The Mules battled over the next two minutes scoring two goals, but Ursinus still held a 7-6 advantage with 7:39 remaining in the half. At the 6:59-mark, Morgan capitalized on a free position opportunity to net her third goal of the game and seventh hat trick of the season. Just three minutes later, Lynch followed up with her second goal of the game off a free position opportunity as her shot bounced past the Mules netminder. Muhlenberg answered with a 2-0 run to cut their deficit to one, but Ursinus scored the final goal of the half behind a goal from Michaud with 56 seconds remaining in the half.  
 

The Bears netted the opening goal of the second half as Vizian found a cutting Morgan to extend the Bears lead to 11-8 at the 14:22-mark. The Mules brought their deficit to one over the next four minutes as back-to-back goals made the score 11-10 at the 11:07 mark. Each team traded a goal, until the Bears added back-to-back goals from Bogdan and Noto to stretch their lead to three. Each team added a goal over the remaining six minutes of action and the Bears controlled a 15-12 lead heading into the fourth quarter. The Bears defense and Machado were stellar over the final moments of the third stanza as the senior goalkeeper was credited with three saves to keep the Bears ahead.  


The rain started to fall in the fourth quarter and the Bears offense capitalized on their scoring opportunities, outscoring Muhlenberg 8-1 in the period to surge past the Mules. The Bears stretched their lead to four after scoring the opening goal of the period when Michaud found a wide-open Noto next to the net for a goal. Vizian won the ensuing draw control for the Bears and just seconds later Leonzi found McCann on a pick-and-roll opportunity to give Ursinus a 17-12 lead. Moments later, Michaud connected on a shot during a free position opportunity, and another goal from Vizian gave Ursinus a 19-12 advantage with 8:18 remaining. The Bears closed out the final seven minutes of action on a 4-1 run, with goals from Lynch, Noto, and McCann to give Ursinus the 23-13 victory.  

 
With the road victory, it marks the first time that the Bears have defeated Muhlenberg in Allentown since a 16-15 victory in April of 2012. Ursinus held a 40-31 advantage in shots and finished a perfect 100% (16-of-16) on their clear attempts. The Bears controlled the circle holding a 23-17 edge in draw controls, while the defense forced 11 Muhlenberg turnovers. 

 
The Bears return to action on Saturday as they host Dickinson College for a chance to clinch a Centennial Conference playoff berth from Patterson Field at 12pm.  

 
Visit Ursinus athletics' home online, Ursinusathletics.com, anytime for up-to-the-minute news on all Bears sports including post-game recaps, interviews, and much more.

 
Be sure to follow Ursinus Athletics on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube for in-depth coverage for all UC Athletics.