READING, Pa. – The Ursinus College women's lacrosse team jumped out to an early advantage en route to a 19-4 victory over Albright College on Wednesday evening in their season opener.
 

The Bears scored 10 goals in the first quarter, with seven athletes scored at least two goals in the victory. Senior Sarah Child paced the Bears lineup with three goals, while classmates Julia McCann and Maeve Leonzi each netted two goals. Junior Ashley Noto and sophomore Jaime Michaud added two goals and an assist apiece, with Michaud finishing with a game-high five ground balls.

 
Michaud got Ursinus on the board first at the 14:26-mark, receiving a pass at the top of the circle before sprinting past two defenders and beating the goalie on the near side for the opening score. Just under a minute later, junior Meghan Vizian stretched the Bears' lead to two as she forced a turnover and sent a bouncing shot past the netminder for her first goal of the season. Ursinus carried the momentum through the next three minutes as Leonzi, McCann, and senior Grace Lynch each netted goals to extend the Bears' lead to 5-0 with 11:33 left in the quarter. After a goal from the Lions at the 5:53-mark, Leonzi capitalized on a scoring chance for her second goal to give Ursinus a 6-1 lead. Next, junior Sklyer Bogdan became the sixth Bear to record a goal while Vizian added her second at the 2:33-mark to extend the Bears' advantage to 8-1. Ursinus closed out the period with goals from senior Sarah Child and sophomore Brynn Bastian-Pastore to earn a 10-1 lead at the end of the first quarter.

 
The Bears carried the momentum into the second quarter as Noto assisted Michaud on a goal, while Child's second goal of the contest extended the Bears' advantage to 12-1 with 8:50 left in the first half. During the first goal, Michaud cut inside the circle and received the pass before sending a left-handed shot past the Lions netminder. Ursinus closed out the first half with goals from Child and McCann to take a commanding 14-1 halftime advantage.

 
Albright responded with a goal to open the second half, but Ursinus quickly answered as Michaud found McCann for a score with 9:47 remaining in the period. Michaud secured a ground ball in the offensive zone before dishing a pass to McCann for the score. With under five minutes remaining in the period, first-year netminder Allison McAnally earned back-to-back saves as she denied an initial shot attempt and a free-position opportunity. Next, Ursinus cleared the zone as Noto connected on a score to increase the Bears' lead to 16-2. In the final period, sophomore Ryann Buchner and sophomore Whitney Hershey each scored their first goals of the season to lead Ursinus to the 19-4 road victory.

 
Ursinus held a 26-17 lead in shots, an 8-2 advantage in caused turnovers, and a 11-10 edge in groundballs. In goal, junior Susie Miller recorded the victory with three saves over the first 30 minutes of play while McAnally closed out the contest with four saves. For Albright, Kylee McCauley-Kriegsman suffered the loss with four saves and 12 goals allowed.

 
The Bears will return to action on Saturday, February 22nd as they host Rowan University at 1 p.m. from their 2025 home opener.