LANCASTER, Pa. — The Ursinus College women's soccer team was unable to overcome an early deficit, falling to Franklin & Marshall College, 2-0, on Wednesday evening at Tylus Field.
The loss drops the Bears to 8-6-2 overall and 4-4-1 in conference play. The Diplomats, meanwhile, improve to 7-4-3 overall and 4-3-2 in conference play.
Franklin & Marshall set the tone early, getting off to a strong start offensively. Multiple scoring opportunities led to a goal in the eighth minute by Ellison Errington, assisted by Ashley Inacio. On the play, a long, arching cross from the corner found Errington in the box, and she converted with a header for her third goal of the season.
The Diplomats continued to apply offensive pressure throughout the first half. However, strong play by first-year goalkeeper
Lexie Albaeck and the Bears' defense helped Ursinus limit the deficit to one goal at halftime.
The second half resembled the first, as strong defensive play by the Bears and Albaeck helped stave off an aggressive F&M attack. In the 54th minute, the Diplomats broke through with a goal by Meg Balerna to extend their lead to two with 35 minutes remaining.
The Bears responded with shots by sophomore
Lily Ballard and junior
Kaleigh Evans, but both attempts were denied by the Diplomats' defense. In the 80th minute, sophomore
Anna Pascale's shot off a corner kick missed wide, resulting in the 2-0 defeat.
Franklin & Marshall held a 24-3 advantage in shots and a 14-1 lead in shots on goal. Diplomats' goalkeeper Lucy Fleming earned the win with one save, while Albaeck took the loss despite recording a career-high 11 saves.
Ursinus will return to action Saturday, traveling to Baltimore to take on No. 16 Johns Hopkins University at 5 p.m.
