COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – The Ursinus College women's lacrosse team dropped their Centennial Conference opener via a 20-13 score against Washington College on Saturday afternoon from Patterson Field.

 
In a rematch of the Centennial Conference first round matchup from a season ago, the Shorewomen rode an impressive second quarter to the Centennial Conference victory. With the defeat Ursinus falls to 4-4 overall and open Centennial play 0-1, meanwhile Washington College improved to 7-2 on the season and 1-0 in conference action.

 
Juniors Julia McCann and Grace Lynch paced the Bears offense with a team-high three goals apiece, while classmate Maeve Leonzi, first-year Jamie Michaud, and sophomore Meghan Vizian each added two goals. Vizian recorded a team-high four ground balls while Michaud collected a career-best four caused turnovers.
 

Washington College struck first within the opening two minutes of the game to grab an early 1-0 advantage. The Bears quickly responded with back-to-back goals to retake a 2-1 lead as Vizian and McCann collected their first goals of the contest. During the Bears' opening score, Vizian collected a pass at the top of the circle and sprinted past a defender before sending a bounce shot into the back of the net. With 12:04 remaining in the period, McCann was awarded a free-position opportunity and capitalized with a goal after firing a shot past the Washington College netminder for her 15th goal of the season. The Shorewomen answered back with the next two scores and regained a 3-2 lead with 5:33 remaining in the quarter, before a goal from Leonzi tied the contest at three apiece at the 4:52-mark. Washington College closed out the opening period with the final two goals to regain a 5-3 advantage heading into the second stanza.

 
Within the opening minute of the second quarter, Vizian picked up the draw control to give Ursinus the early possession. Near the corner of the cage, Lynch had possession before a double team forced a pass to Leonzi sprinting towards the cage. Off the pass, Leonzi fired a shot to goal for her second goal of the game to cut the Bears deficit to one. After a Washington College goal, Ursinus answered with back-to-back goals from senior Gabrielle Liott and Vizian to the score at 6-6 with 10:48 remaining in the half. The momentum quickly turned as the Shorewomen scored the final six goals of the period to extend their lead to 12-6 at halftime.
 

Trailing by six to open the second half, Ursinus knotted the first goal at the 12:43-mark as McCann capitalized off a free-position goal to move the deficit to five. The Shorewomen responded with a run of three straight scoring opportunities to extend their lead to 15-7 with 7:37 remaining in the quarter. Lynch answered with the final two goals for the Bears in the period, but Washington College responded each time with goals and held a 17-9 lead heading into the final stanza. The Bears outscored the Shorewomen 4-3 in the final period, but were unable to overcome the deficit falling to 20-13 in their Centennial Conference opener. Over the final stanza, Michaud, Lynch, and McCann each tallied goals for the Bears.
 
 
The Bears held a 35-29 advantage in shots, a 19-17 edge in draw controls, and a 24-17 advantage in ground balls. Washington College finished with a clear percentage 91.3% (21-of-23) while Ursinus had a successful day as well with a clear percentage of 83.3% (15-of-18). Washington College's McKenna Seashole earned the victory in goal behind 14 saves meanwhile senior Charlotte Grahame suffered the loss after saving three shots over 28 minutes of action.
 
 
The Bears return to action on Wednesday, March 27th as they host Widener University at 7 p.m. to celebrate their Hidden Opponent Game.