EWING, N.J. – Behind two goals from junior Mary Lauren Franz, the No. 19 Ursinus Field Hockey team outlasted No. 18 TCNJ on the road by a score of 2-1 in non-conference action on a pleasant Wednesday afternoon.
 
 
With the win, the Bears improved to 4-2 overall and gathered their third win against a nationally ranked opponent this season. Meanwhile, the Lions fell to 3-3 overall.
 
 
Most of the first 10 minutes of the game was highly contested and locked into midfield play with neither team giving an inch. Franz recorded the first shot on goal by either team at the 11-minute mark when she snuck in the right side of the shooting circle and had her shot saved one-on-one by the Lions goalkeeper. The Bears had two penalty corners awarded in the final four minutes of the first quarter but were only able to get one shot off that went wide. Ursinus sophomore goalkeeper Adriana Palladinetti was put to the test in the first 15 seconds of the second quarter when a turnover just outside the shooting circle brought two good chances on net. Palladinetti turned both aside and the Bears got on the board on their next trip in the Lions zone when Franz tapped in a pass across the front of the goal line from senior Ellie Bruggeman. TCNJ nearly got on the board in the 23rd minute off a penalty corner shot, but junior defender Maeve Montgomery swatted the ball away in front of the goal line.
 
 
Franz scored on the first shot recorded by either team in the third quarter in the 39th minute to put the Bears up 2-0. She collected a long hit from senior Regan Horting in front of 25-yard line in front of two Lion defenders and worked around a sprawling Lions goalkeeper to get a shot off into the bottom of the net. After not getting a shot off in the third quarter, TCNJ got on the board with a penalty stroke goal in the 48th minute to make it a 2-1 game. The Bears did not have a shot attempt in the fourth quarter but played strong defense to keep TCNJ off the board. The one shot on goal that TCNJ did have in the final four minutes was a high shot off a penalty corner that Montgomery once again kept out.
 
 
The Lions held a slight 8-5 advantage in shots and a 5-3 edge in shots on goal. TCNJ held a sizable 9-2 edge in penalty corners after the Bears had both come in the first quarter. Palladinetti earned the win after making two saves in the full 60 minutes while Lions goalkeeper Brigitte Racey suffered the loss with one save. Franz's two goals brings her to a team-leading five on the season and she has a pair of multi-goal efforts.
 
 
Ursinus returns to action on Saturday, September 23rd as they will host No. 3 Johns Hopkins at 1:00 p.m. in their Centennial Conference opener.