SWARTHMORE, Pa. – A pair of fourth quarter goals proved to be the difference as the No. 17 Ursinus College field hockey team fell by a 2-1 score against Swarthmore College on Wednesday evening from Clothier Field.
 

With the loss, Ursinus moved to 6-4 overall and 2-2 in Centennial Conference action, while the Garnet improved to 7-5 on the season and 3-1 in conference play. Sophomore Marie Brainard scored the lone goal for the Bears, marking her second consecutive game with a goal and third straight with a point.

 
During the opening period, Swarthmore maintained much of the possession outshooting Ursinus 4-0 in the quarter. The Bears defense and junior netminder Adraina Palladinetti stood tall denying each scoring opportunity from the Garnet, while recording four saves over the first stanza. Palladinetti's third save of the quarter came as she laid out to her right for a diving save and to keep the Garnet off the board. After Swarthmore was awarded a penalty corner, Hayley Harris' shot was denied by Palladinetti via a kick save leading to a 0-0 draw at the end of the first quarter.

 
Ursinus quickly responded at the start of the second period as they earned a penalty corner opportunity at the 15:31-mark. On the corner, senior defender Maeve Montgomery received the insert pass and nearly found the go-ahead goal, but her shot deflected off the Swarthmore netminder to keep the contest scoreless. The Bears defense and Palladinetti continued to play well earning three or more saves over the remainder of the period to keep the contest scoreless at halftime.

 
Swarthmore controlled much of the possession during the third stanza as they outshot the Bears, 3-0, but the contest entered the final period knotted at zero. Each offense woke up during the final period as a total of three goals were scored to decide the contest. The Garnet opened the scoring as a goal from Sophia Hitchingham gave Swarthmore a 1-0 lead with 13:47 remaining in the contest. Ursinus quickly responded as Brainard connected on the equalizer to tie the score at one apiece with 11:08 remaining. Senior Mary Lauren Franz flicked a pass ahead towards Brainard, who dribbled through a defender creating a one-on-one opportunity with the Garnet netminder. After dribbling into the circle, Brainard pulled the goalie from the cage and sent a back handed shot past the defense for the goal. Unfortunately, Swarthmore added a goal from Emma Duffield with 7:03 remaining and Ursinus was unable to add another shot on goal resulting in the 2-1 defeat.

 
Swarthmore held a 13-2 advantage in shots on goal and a 9-1 edge in penalty corner opportunities. Junior netminder Adriana Palladinetti suffered the loss recording a career-best 11 saves over 60 minutes of play. For the Garnet, Cassandra Conklin earned the victory tallying one save over 60 minutes in goal.
 

The Bears return to action on Saturday as they host Washington College for a Centennial Conference matchup starting at noon from Snell Alumnae Field.