COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – Behind an impressive 13-3 halftime lead, the Ursinus College women's lacrosse team cruised to a 20-4 victory over Saint Joseph (Conn.) on Wednesday evening at Patterson Field.
 
 
With the victory, Ursinus improves to 2-4 on the season while the Blue Jays fall to 1-4 overall. Junior Ashley Noto led the Bears offense with four goals, an assist to total five points and cross the 100-career point plateau. Sophomore Dana DeSiato set a new career-high with a team-leading six assists. Senior Maeve Leonzi added her fourth multi-goal game this season with three goals and an assist, while sophomore Ryann Buchner scored a career-best two goals.
 
 
The Bears jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead through the first two minutes of play as DeSiato, Noto, and Leonzi each netted their first goals. After the Blue Jays answered with a score, Ursinus bounced back with consecutive goals by Buchner and Leonzi increasing their lead to 5-1 at the 10:56-mark. DeSiato assisted on each goal as she found Buchner and Leonzi sprinting towards the cage, before they each fired a shot past the Blue Jay goalie. The Bears closed out the period on a 4-0 run to capture a 9-1 advantage at the end of the first quarter. Seniors Sarar Child, Julia McCann, Grace Lynch, and junior Skyler Bogdan each recorded their first goals.
 

Saint Joseph's answered to open the second stanza as they scored back-to-back goals to cut their deficit to 9-3 with 12:18 to play in the first half. Ursinus quickly responded with two goals within a minute of each other to recapture an 11-3 advantage. Noto connected on the first goal, assisted by Leonzi while junior Meghan Vizian assisted Noto on the following score. The Bears closed out the first half with a pair of goals by Buchner and Leonzi to control a 13-3 lead at the halftime break. Buchner's second goal came off a caused turnover by first-year Abby Cooney as the Bears were a women-down.

 
The Bears carried the momentum into the second half as sophomore Jaime Michaud and Noto scored to increase their lead to 15-3 at the 8:50-mark. Saint Joseph's scored the final goal of the stanza with 1:21 remaining as Ursinus took an 11-goal lead into the final period. The Bears closed out the contest by scoring each of the final five scores to earn the 20-4 victory. Sophomore Whitney Hershey scored the first two goals of the period, while first-year Jeremi Morrison added her first collegiate goal and sophomore Brooklyn Roe connected on her first score of the season.
 
 
Ursinus held a commanding 43-6 lead in shots, supported a 28-13 advantage in ground balls, and a 19-6 edge in draw controls. The Bears' finished a perfect 100% (7-of-7) on their clear attempts, while holding the Blue Jays to a clear percentage of 25% (5-of-20). First-year goalie Allison McAnally earned her first career victory in goal, just allowing three goals.
 
 
The Bears return to action on Saturday as they host Moravian University at noon from Patterson Field.