ALLENTOWN, Pa. – The Ursinus College women's lacrosse team saw its season come to an end Tuesday, falling 16–8 to Muhlenberg College in the first round of the Centennial Conference playoffs at Varsity Field.

 
With the loss, Ursinus finishes the season with a 7–11 overall record and a 3–6 mark in Centennial Conference play. Muhlenberg advances to the semifinal round and will face Franklin & Marshall on Thursday. The Mules improved to 14–4 overall and 6–3 in the conference.

 
Senior Maeve Leonzi and junior Ashley Noto led the Bears' offense with two goals apiece, while sophomore Dana DeSiato and junior Skyler Bogdan each added two assists. On defense, junior Abby Burkholder recorded five ground balls one shy of her career best of six against Cabrini last season. Four different Bears were credited with a caused turnover.

 
Muhlenberg opened the game with two goals in the first two minutes to take an early lead. The Mules maintained possession for much of the first quarter, extending the lead to 4–0 before Ursinus got on the board with 4:12 remaining. After a Muhlenberg turnover, Leonzi corralled a loose ball in front of the net and capitalized with her 156th career goal. The Bears managed three more shots in the quarter but were unable to convert and trailed 4–1 heading into the second.

 
The Mules kept the pressure on, scoring four straight goals to stretch the lead to 8–1 with 9:21 left in the first half. After another Muhlenberg tally, Ursinus responded with a 3–1 run to close the half, narrowing the deficit to 10–4 at the break. Bogdan scored on a player-up opportunity before Noto and Leonzi added goals. With 1:01 remaining in the half, DeSiato found Noto in front of the net for her 25th goal of the season. Thirty seconds later, Bogdan connected with Leonzi, whose bouncing shot snuck past the Mules' goalkeeper.

 
Muhlenberg opened the second half with two unanswered goals before sophomore Whitne Hershey scored her 14th of the season to make it 12–5. Both defenses tightened in the third quarter, with each side adding one goal. DeSiato found senior Grace Lynch cutting between defenders for her 23rd goal of the season, and the Bears entered the fourth trailing 13–6. The Mules outscored Ursinus 3–2 in the final quarter to secure the 16–8 win. Noto scored her second goal of the game, and senior Sarah Child converted a player-up opportunity for the Bears' final tally.


Muhlenberg held a 35–28 advantage in shots and a 20–19 edge in ground balls. Ursinus led 14–13 in draw controls. The Bears cleared 77.8% of their opportunities (14 of 18), while Muhlenberg cleared 80% (20 of 25). Muhlenberg goalkeeper Ellison Ervin earned the win with 14 saves in 60 minutes. First-year Allison McAnally took the loss for Ursinus, recording six saves in 20 minutes.