BALTIMORE, Md. – The Ursinus women's soccer team grabbed an early lead but eventually fell, 4-1, against No. 16 Johns Hopkins University on Saturday afternoon at Homewood Field.
With the loss, Ursinus closes out the regular season with an 8-7-2 overall record and a 4-5-1 mark in Centennial Conference action. Meanwhile, the Blue Jays secured the No. 1 seed in the Centennial Conference playoffs and ended the regular season with a 13-1-2 record and a 9-1 mark in conference action.
The Bears jumped out to a quick 1-0 advantage just 67 seconds into the game as junior
Kaleigh Evans intercepted a pass and found senior
Sam Wechsler for her first goal of the season and second of her career. On the play, Wechsler received a pass just inside the box on the far side and sent an arcing shot into the back of the net to give Ursinus a one-goal lead.
The Blue Jays responded with a few chances over the next 15 minutes, but first-year goalie
Lexie Albaeck made a pair of saves to keep Ursinus ahead by one. However, in the 24th minute, Johns Hopkins converted on a long cross, and a bouncing shot just sneaked inside the post to even the score at one. The Blue Jays continued to apply pressure, but the Ursinus backline and Albaeck stood tall, with Albaeck recording three saves as the contest entered halftime tied at one.
Albaeck opened the second half by denying the Blue Jays on a shot on target for her sixth save to keep the contest tied. In the 64th minute, Ursinus nearly added the go-ahead goal as sophomore
Fiona Sanders and Wechsler each fired shots on goal, but both attempts were saved by the Blue Jays' goalkeeper.
On the sequence, sophomore
Abby Godown sent a long pass across the Blue Jays' defense to Sanders at the back post. However, Sanders' header was kicked away by the Hopkins goalkeeper, and the ensuing shot by Wechsler was saved to keep the game tied.
Johns Hopkins capitalized on the missed opportunity by scoring in the 70th and 76th minutes to stretch its lead to two with 14 minutes to play. The Bears responded with shots by Evans and Wechsler with fewer than 12 minutes to play but were unable to convert, resulting in the 4-1 defeat.
Johns Hopkins held a 27-5 advantage in shots, a 10-3 lead in shots on goal and a 2-0 edge in corner kicks. Albaeck suffered the loss with six saves over 86 minutes of action, while Ella Kruntchev earned the victory with two saves.
Ursinus closes out the season finishing seventh in the Centennial Conference standings, earning their most wins in conference since finishing 7-3 in 2015.
