COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – Behind a pair of first half scores, the 17th-ranked Ursinus College Field Hockey team defeated No. 12 Bryn Mawr College, 2-1 on Wednesday evening from Snell Alumnae Field.
 

 
With the victory, Ursinus has clinched either the second or third seed in the Centennial Conference Championship playoffs and close out the conference slate with a 12-4 overall record and an 8-2 mark in CC action. Meanwhile, Bryn Mawr falls to 12-5 overall, 5-4 in conference play, and currently sit in fifth place within the conference standings. Senior Mary Lauren Franz and sophomore Marie Brainard led the Bears offense with a goal apiece, while the win marks as the sixth consecutive victory for the Bears.
 
 
 
The Owls controlled play for the opening minute of action totaling a pair of penalty corners and two shots on goal. During the first corner, Bryn Mawr's Maggie Barilla fired a shot towards the far post finding a teammate with an open net, but a diving save from junior netminder Adriana Palladinetti to keep the contest scoreless. A penalty stroke was called on Ursinus and Barilla stepped up for the Owls once again, but her shot went directly off pads of Palladinetti to deny the scoring opportunity. Ursinus responded at the 8:23-mark as Franz connected on a scoring opportunity to give Ursinus an early 1-0 advantage. During the play, Franz received a pass from outside the circle spun to her left and fired a shot past the goalie's left foot for the score. Palladinetti and the Bears defense denied the final shot of the period from the Owls and entered the second stanza leading 1-0. Ursinus maintained possession throughout the start of the second period, before Brainard increased the Bears lead to two at the 22:56-mark. Brainard forced an Owls turnover, split two defenders, and sent a backhanded shot through the Owls defense for the score. The goal marks Brainard's fifth consecutive game with a score and she has recorded a point in eight of her last nine games. Each team tallied a penalty corner opportunity over the remainder of the period, but Ursinus entered the halftime break leading 2-0.
 

 
Under two minutes into the second half, Bryn Mawr responded with their first goal as Annick van Blerkom assisted Novy Goetgeluk to cut the Ursinus lead to one with 13:09 remaining in the period. The Bears defense turned away consecutive penalty corner chances from Bryn Mawr as the Owls were unsuccessful on creating a shot on goal. Ursinus responded with a trio of corners and a shot on goal but came away empty as the Bears entered the final stanza leading 2-1. During the 48th minute, junior Rachel Buono and Gigi Testa each collected shots on goal but both opportunities were saved by the Owls netminder. With 6:17 remaining in the contest, senior defender Maeve Montgomery kept the Bears ahead by one after recording a defensive save during a penalty corner chance. The Bears maintained possession over the remainder of the contest enroute to the 2-1 conference victory.
 
 

Ursinus held a 13-9 lead in shots, while the Owls earned an 8-7 edge in penalty corners with each team finishing with seven shots on goal. Palladinetti recorded the victory in goal behind five saves, while Bryn Mawr's Charlene Basque suffered the loss in net tallying five saves.

 
 
The Bears will return to action on Saturday, November 23rd as they travel to Ithaca, New York for a non-conference matchup against No. 23 Ithaca College at 1 p.m.