SWARTHMORE, Pa. – A goal in the 43rd minute proved to be the difference as the Ursinus women's soccer team fell, 1-0, to 15th-ranked Swarthmore College on Saturday afternoon at Clothier Field.
With the loss, Ursinus falls to 6-4-2 on the season and 2-3-1 in Centennial Conference action. Meanwhile, the Garnet improved to 8-1-2 overall and 5-0-1 in conference play.
Swarthmore recorded the first two chances of the contest within the opening two minutes, with both attempts missing wide of the goal. After Ursinus was unable to record a shot off a corner kick, Swarthmore collected the game's first shot on goal in the 13th minute, but first-year goalkeeper
Lexie Albaeck made the save.
The Bears denied a string of scoring chances by the Garnet before junior
Kaleigh Evans recorded Ursinus' first shot at the 21:19 mark. On a counterattack, junior
Taylor Pezulich played a through ball toward first-year forward
Alexis Whaley near the right side of the box. Whaley passed the ball back to Evans, but her shot was blocked, leading to a corner kick. The ensuing corner was cleared by the Garnet defense.
Swarthmore continued to pressure the Bears, outshooting Ursinus 7-0 over the remainder of the half. The Garnet broke through on their final chance of the period when Elin Bash scored to give Swarthmore a 1-0 lead at halftime. The goal came off a turnover in the midfield, followed by a pass played just in front of the goal that set up a one-timer.
After halftime, Swarthmore recorded the first two shots before Whaley had a scoring opportunity saved by the Garnet goalkeeper at the 52:49 mark. Whaley received a pass just outside the box, took a touch and fired an arching shot, but the Garnet's goalkeeper denied the attempt with a diving save.
Sophomore
Fiona Sanders and senior
Josie Parson each recorded a shot on goal for the Bears down the stretch, but Ursinus was unable to find the equalizer and fell 1-0 on the road.
The Garnet held a 19-4 advantage in shots, an 8-2 edge in shots on goal and a 6-3 advantage in corner kicks. Swarthmore goalkeeper Sofie Aird earned the win with two saves and her fourth shutout of the season. Albaeck suffered the loss for Ursinus, recording six saves in 90 minutes of action.
The Bears will return to action Wednesday, October 15th, when they host Bryn Mawr College at Patterson Field.
