COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – First-year Fiona Sanders netted the game's lone goal, leading the Ursinus women's soccer team to a 1-0 victory over Franklin & Marshall College on Wednesday evening at Patterson Field.

 
With the victory, Ursinus improves to 9-5-3 overall and 3-4-2 in Centennial Conference play. Meanwhile, the Diplomats fall to 9-4-4 on the season and 4-3-2 in conference action. It marked the Bears' first victory over the Diplomats since earning a 1-0 victory in October of 2018. With one contest, Ursinus currently ranks as the sixth seed in the Centennial Conference standings and will look to lock up their first CC playoff berth since the 2015 season.

 
The Diplomats tallied the first scoring chance of the contest in the 17th minute as a header was blocked by a Bears defender. Next, in the 23rd minute, first-year defender Lily Ballard denied a scoring chance behind a sliding tackle that deflected the ball out of harm's way. The Bears best chance came with seven minutes remaining in the first half as sophomore Taylor Pezulich found first-year Abby Godown within the box. Pezulich intercepted a pass at midfield and sent a through ball to Godown, but her one-timer missed left of the post as the team's entered halftime tied at zero.

 
In the 56th minute, Ursinus struck first as junior defender Josie Parson fired a free kick from their own defensive end finding Sanders past the Diplomats back line. Sanders took the pass and sent a chip shot over the Diplomats netminder to give Ursinus a 1-0 lead. The score marked Sanders' second goal of the season and her second game-winning score as well. Franklin & Marshall responded behind consecutive shots, but the first missed high and the second was saved by the Bears' defense. In the 67th minute, Franklin & Marshall's Katherine Finnerty delivered a shot just in front of the goal, but sophomore netminder Mallory Toomey and the Bears defense denied the chance to keep Ursinus ahead by one. With under 10 minutes to play, senior Alicia Page corralled a loose ball within the box, but her scoring chance found the gloves of the Diplomats keeper and kept the Bears lead at one. The Diplomats recorded a pair of chances over the remainder of the contest, but both were off target as Ursinus held on for the shutout victory.
 
 
The Diplomats held a 21-6 advantage in shots, a 5-4 edge in shots on goal, and a 3-1 lead in corner kick opportunities. Franklin & Marshall's netminder Lucy Fleming suffered the loss behind three saves, while Toomey earned the victory with five saves.
 
 
The Bears return to action on Saturday, November 1st as they host No. 18 Johns Hopkins University for Senior Day starting at 5 p.m.