ITHACA, N.Y. –The 17th-ranked Ursinus College field hockey team fell to No. 23 Ithaca College, 2-1, as the contest entered a penalty shootout on Saturday afternoon from Higgins Stadium.
Sophomore Kristen Johnson scored the game-tying goal in the fourth period, but after two overtime periods, the Bombers came away with the victory, winning the shootout 4-2. Ursinus closes out the regular season with a 12-5 overall record and an 8-2 mark in Centennial Conference action. The Bears will enter the Centennial Conference Championship playoffs as the No. 2 seed and play the highest seeded team remaining after Tuesday's quarterfinals contest.
The Bombers quickly took an early 1-0 lead as Madeleine Goodman assisted Catherine Papa for her fifth goal of the season during the second minute of action in the first period. During the play, Ithaca capitalized off a Bears' turnover, before Papa's shot trickled off the left post and into the back of the cage for an early lead. The Bears continued to stand tall over the remainder of the period as they denied a pair of shots and entered the second stanza trailing by one. Ursinus regained momentum in the second period as they recorded a penalty corner and a shot on goal at the 19:55-mark. On the corner, junior
Lauren Sieczkowski received a pass with space to work but her shot deflected off the Bombers netminder to keep the Bears deficit at one. Each team traded a scoring opportunity over the remainder of the first half, but both teams were held in check resulting in a 1-0 halftime deficit for Ursinus.
Ursinus maintained possession during the third period out shooting the Bombers 4-1 in the period, until Johnson's goal at the 51:38-mark of the fourth period tied the game at one apiece. During a penalty corner, Sieczkowski received a pass from senior
Maeve Montgomery and quickly found Johnson on the near post. Johnson fired a shot past the nearside of the Bombers netminder to tie the score at one apiece. Ithaca tallied a string of corners and shots on goal, but each opportunity was denied by the Bears defense and junior netminder
Adriana Palladinetti as the teams entered overtime tied at one. Ursinus nearly found the game-winning goal in overtime as senior
Mary Lauren Franz, Johnson, and sophomore
Marie Brainard each recorded shots on goal. The Bears out shot Ithaca 8-4 during both overtime periods, but the contest entered strokes to determine the winner. Ithaca connected on four of their five stroke attempts to earn the victory.
Ursinus held an 18-15 lead in shots, a 14-9 edge in shots on goal, while the Bombers earned a 12-11 edge in penalty corner opportunities. In goal, Palladinetti suffered the loss behind eight saves with Ithaca's Maeve Clark collecting a game-high 13 saves.
The Bears will await their potential matchup and host the semifinal round of the Centennial Conference Championship on Thursday, November 7th at a time to be determined.
Centennial Conference Field Hockey Tournament Seeds:
#1 Johns Hopkins
#2 Ursinus
#3 Swarthmore
#4 Franklin & Marshall
#5 Haverford
#6 Bryn Mawr
