CHESTERTOWN, Md. – The Ursinus College women's lacrosse team suffered an 18-11 setback to Washington College on Wednesday evening in the opening round of the Centennial Conference playoffs.
With the loss, the Bears finish the 2023 season with a 9-9 overall record, while the Shorewomen improved to 10-7 overall and will move on to battle No.1 seed Gettysburg College on Saturday afternoon.
After a strong Bears defensive stand to open the contest, sophomore
Julia McCann capitalized splitting her two defenders before sending a shot past the Shorewomen netminder to give Ursinus an early 1-0 lead at the 12:23-mark. Just a minute later, McCann received a pass at the top of the circle and made her way in front of the net and while being tripped, she collected her second goal of the game. Washington College quickly answered after winning the ensuing draw control and a goal from Mia Salvatierra made the score 2-1 with 11:10 remaining in the opening period. The Bears continued the offensive pressure as back-to-back shots forced a defensive miscue from the Shorewomen, as after save, the ball slipped out of the Washington College's goalies stick and found the back of the net to give Ursinus a 3-1 advantage. Washington College's Salvatierra added her second goal of the game at the 6:51-mark to cut the Bears lead to 3-2. Just under a minute later, the Shorewomen added a goal after capitalizing on a free position opportunity to tie the score at three a piece with 6:07 remaining in the period.
Sophomore
Grace Lynch netted her first goal of the contest at the 4:44-mark as she connected on a bouncing shot to give Ursinus a 4-3 advantage. Moments later, first-year
Ashley Noto found senior
Reilly Morgan cutting towards the net for her first goal of the game and extending the Bears advantage to two. Washington College recorded the final goal of the opening period with 27 seconds remaining to cut the Bears lead to 5-4 at the end of the first quarter.
Both defenses stood tall over the opening minutes of the second period, until junior
Mary Michaud extended the Bears lead to two after capitalizing on a free position attempt. After the foul, Michaud sprinted towards the net and sent a shot towards the bottom left corner for the goal. At the 9:29-mark, Noto collected her first goal of the game to give Ursinus a 7-4 lead. Noto was behind the net before juking past her defender and sending a shot past the near side of the goalie. Washington College answered less than a minute later with a goal to make the score 7-5 with 8:38 remaining in the half.
Senior goalkeeper
Alexa Machado stepped up a minute later, collecting back-to-back saves on a free position opportunity and another Shorewomen shot to keep the Bears advantage at two. The offense rewarded her when Michaud earned a free position opportunity and capitalized for her second goal of the game to give Ursinus an 8-5 lead. Washington College cut into the Bears lead before halftime, scoring twice within the final two minutes to make the score 8-7 at the break.
Washington College added the opening goal of the second half to tie the score at eight a piece at the 10:40-mark, behind a goal from Mary Cate Anson. The Shorewomen made it a 4-0 run and recaptured their first lead of the game at the 9:45-mark capitalizing on a women-up opportunity to take a 9-8 lead. Washington College extended their lead to two with 7:54 remaining in the period as a goal from Tobin Chambers made the score 10-8 leading to an Ursinus timeout. The Bears bounced back with a goal from Michaud for her fourth hat trick of the season to cut the Bears deficit to one. On a free position opportunity, Michaud circled behind the net before sending a bouncing shot past the Shorewomen defense. With 3:10 remaining in the third quarter, Washington College capitalized off a Bears turnover leading to a one-on-one opportunity and a goal to extend their lead to 11-9. Ursinus bounced back with a goal from Lynch to make the score 11-10 with 1:56 remaining in the quarter. Lynch split two defenders before sending a bouncing shot past the Shorewomen goalie. Washington College scored the final goal of the period after Morrall scored her fifth goal of the game to increase the Shorewomen lead to two heading into the fourth.
Washington College scored the opening two goals of the final stanza to increase their lead to four with 11:02 remaining in the contest. Washington's Ashley Devlin assisted on the first goal before scoring her first of the game on the second opportunity. The Shorewomen added back-to-back goals again to make it a 4-0 run to start the fourth quarter and extend their lead to six with 7:56 to play. The Shorewomen closed out the contest on a 2-1 run to capture an 18-11 Centennial Conference victory. Lynch scored the lone goal for the Bears in the period for her eighth hat trick of the season and third consecutive game with three goals.
Washington College held a 32-24 edge in shots and held the Bears to a 70.5% (12-of-17) on their clear attempts, while converting on 87.5% (14-of-16) of their clears. On offense, Michaud, and Lynch each led the Bears with three goals a piece while McCann finished with two goals on two shots. Machado was dealt the loss in net collecting 11 saves while Washington's Sydney Wingate earned the victory recording 11 saves. First-year
Meghan Vizian and senior
Julie Cherneskie each finished with three draw controls, while Michaud recorded a team-high six draw controls.
The Bears wrap up their 2023 schedule behind a strong season recording their most wins in a season since the 2012 campaign.
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