SWARTHMORE, Pa. – Junior Grace Lynch recorded a season-high five goals leading the Ursinus College women's lacrosse team to a 9-6 Centennial Conference victory over Swarthmore College on Wednesday evening from Clothier Field.
 

With the victory, the Bears improved to 7-5 overall and 3-2 in Centennial Conference action. Meanwhile, the Garnet fell to 7-4 on the season and opened conference play with a 1-4 record.

 
Ursinus and Swarthmore both honored Ursinus alumna, Anita Deasey '75, a former Ursinus and Swarthmore assistant lacrosse coach who touched the lives as a mention, teammate, and friend. The Garnet and Bears acknowledged Anita's living passion for high achievement, love of the competition, integrity for fair play, and enthusiasm for the game prior to the contest.

 
Lynch finished with her most goals in a game since scoring five last season on April 26th in a 23-13 victory over Muhlenberg. Sophomore Ashley Noto netted two first period goals, while junior Julia McCann and first-year Jaime Michaud each added a goal. In goal, sophomore Camille Hubbs earned the victory behind six saves, while Swarthmore's Helen Stafford suffered the loss recording 10 saves.

 
The Bears jumped out to an early lead as Noto collected the opening two goals of the contest to give Ursinus a two-goal advantage with 5:19 remaining in the period. During the first goal, Noto received a pass behind the cage, made a move around her defender, and sent a bouncing shot into the back of the net to give Ursinus a 1-0 lead. Later in the period she started behind the cage before hesitating past her defender and sending her second goal towards the upper left corner to stretch the Bears advantage to two. The Bears defense continued to play well as seniors Julie Cherneskie and Mary Michaud each were credited with caused turnovers, while Lynch's first goal gave Ursinus a 3-0 lead heading into the second quarter.
 
 
Swarthmore responded with the first two goals of the second period to cut their deficit to 3-2 with 11:48 remaining before halftime. Each of the Garnet's goals were scored by Isabela Bloomquist with the second occurring during a woman-up opportunity. The Bears defense continued to play well as they denied six more scoring chances from the Garnet, while Jaime Michaud and sophomore Sophia Curtis each were credited with caused turnovers. Hubbs tallied four saves in the period, denying two free-position opportunities, while Lynch added her second goal to give Ursinus a 4-2 halftime lead. With 50 seconds remaining in the period, McCann pressured a Garnet midfielder leading to a turnover. Sophomore Abby Burkholder corralled the ground balls and started the fast break transition before finding junior Maeve Leonzi on a 3-on-2 situation. Leonzi dished a pass between two defenders finding Lynch who juked past the goalie and scored on the open net.
 

Ursinus carried the momentum in the second half as they opened the period with back-to-back goals to extend their lead to 6-2 at the 12:50-mark. Lynch netted her third goal of the game to open the period, while Leonzi dished out her second assist to McCann to stretch the Bears lead to four. The Garnet responded with two goals of their own including on a woman-up opportunity to make the score 6-4 with 7:40 remaining in the stanza. Later in the period, Ursinus bounced back with the final two goals of the period to extend their lead back to four heading into the final quarter. At the 6:03-mark, Lynch capitalized off a free-position opportunity, before netting her final goal at the buzzer to give the Bears an 8-4 lead. With under 10 seconds remaining, Ursinus forced a Swarthmore turnover in their own half of the field. Senior Mary Michaud scooped up the groundball near the 50-yard line and sent a deep pass to Lynch behind the Garnet defense. Lynch received the pass within the seven-meter mark and fired a shot on goal at the buzzer for her fifth goal of the game.
 

In the final period, Swarthmore netted the opening two goals, but the Bears answered with a goal from Jamie Michaud with 1:59 remaining to earn the 9-6 Centennial Conference victory. On the defensive end, Curtis, Jaime Michaud, and Mary Michaud each were credited with two caused turnovers apiece. McCann paced the Bears within the circle earning three draw controls, while senior Gabrielle Liott tallied two draw controls. The Bears outshot Swarthmore 29-20, while converting 95.2% (20-of-21) of their clear attempts and holding the Garnet to a clear rate of 75% (21-of-28).  
 
 
The Bears will enjoy the weekend off before returning to action on Wednesday as they hit the road for a Centennial Conference matchup against Haverford College at 7 p.m.