COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. - The Ursinus field hockey team stormed past the Muhlenberg College on Wednesday night, behind four second-half goals leading them to a 6-1 victory.
 
 
With the victory, Ursinus improves to 8-8 overall and 4-5 in Centennial Conference action. The Mules, on the other hand, drop to 6-11 overall and 2-7 in conference play. The victory also clinched a Centennial Conference playoff berth for the Bears, marking their 22nd straight conference tournament appearance. 
 
 
Both squads battled early, albeit with the Bears holding a significant shot advantage in the first period. The aggressive offense translated at the 7:15 mark, as sophomore midfielder Katie Studzinski recovered a pass from junior Marie Brainard and rocketed it in for an early 1-0 Bears advantage. Muhlenberg opened the second quarter, putting on the pressure offensively. Mules leading goal-scorer Abby Diglio was able to capitalize on the momentum, soaring a penalty corner shot in to tie the game 1-1 just 2:59 into the second quarter. Ursinus fought back though, regaining their advantage as senior forward Remi Lloyd tapped in a strong drive by junior forward Ava Mikulski to put the Bears up 2-1. Ursinus carried that lead into the halftime break.
 
 
The Mules once again struck with a flurry to begin the quarter, as they attacked the Bears with four straight shots to begin the quarter. Strong defense helped Ursinus escape though and led to a huge scoring opportunity. The Bears moved with pace after a missed Muhlenberg shot and caught the Mules off-guard, as junior forward Kirsten Johnson rocketed the ball into the right corner of the net off a great assist by Lloyd, putting Ursinus up 3-1 at the 4:55 mark. Both sides continued to rack up corners, but it was the Bears who capitalized, with sophomore forward Ava Wood converting on a short pass by Johnson. The goal gave Ursinus a massive 4-1 advantage and marked Wood's first collegiate goal. Even with a large advantage, Ursinus continued to stay aggressive. Brainard connected on a corner at the 8:28 mark in the fourth, with senior Lauren Breisch recovering a missed Brainard shot and giving it back to her for the goal. Brainard followed it up with another goal at the 5:12 mark in the fourth, sealing a 6-1 Ursinus victory.
 
 
 The Mules held a 16-14 advantage in shots, a 14-11 advantage in shots-on-goal, and an 11-7 edge in penalty corners. Senior goalkeeper Adriana Palladinetti earned the victory behind a career-high 13 saves, while Mules goalie Brenna Fitzpatrick took the loss despite five saves.
 
 
 The Bears return to action on Saturday, November 1st, traveling to Westminster, Maryland to take on McDaniel College at 1 p.m.