COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – A fast start propelled the Ursinus women's lacrosse team past Stevenson University, 16-5, on Saturday afternoon at Patterson Field.
 

With the victory, Ursinus improves to 3-0 on the season, while the Mustangs fall to 2-3. The win marked the Bears' first 3-0 start since opening the 2007 campaign with three straight victories.

 
Senior Ashley Noto paced the Ursinus offense with six points on four goals and two assists. It marked Noto's second straight game with four or more goals and her third multi-goal game of the season. Junior Whitney Hershey tallied her second three-goal performance of the season, while senior Skyler Bogdan, first-year Devin Buggy and junior Jamie Michaud each added two goals.

 
Senior defender Sophia Curtis led the Bears' defense with five caused turnovers and four ground balls, while senior Meghan Vizian added three caused turnovers and junior Ryann Buchner recorded two. First-year goalkeeper Addi Guthrie-Pimpinella earned the win in goal for Ursinus, making five saves in 60 minutes of action.
 

Ursinus jumped out to a 2-0 lead at the 10:55 mark as DeSiato and Noto each found the back of the net. The Bears extended their lead to 4-0 when Buggy and Michaud scored to give Ursinus a four-goal advantage. On Michaud's goal, she created a one-on-one opportunity, juked past her defender, and fired a shot to the far post for the score. After a save by Guthrie-Pimpinella, Noto found Hershey open in front of the cage, and Hershey placed a shot into the top left corner to give Ursinus a 5-0 lead entering the second period.

 
Ursinus carried the momentum into the second as Bogdan found Buggy just outside the crease for her second goal of the game, increasing the lead to 6-0 at the 14:22 mark. The Bears' defense halted a free-position opportunity as Guthrie-Pimpinella made the save to preserve the six-goal advantage. Hershey added her second goal on a woman-up opportunity, and Bogdan scored at the 9:58 mark to give Ursinus an 8-0 lead. After the ensuing draw control, Noto converted on a free-position attempt to make it 9-0. Hershey and Noto each added goals over the remainder of the period, while a Mustang goal with 10 seconds remaining sent Ursinus into halftime with an 11-1 lead.

 
Sophomore Jeremi Morrison opened the scoring in the third period with her first goal at the 12:35 mark, but Stevenson answered with back-to-back goals to trim the Bears' lead to 12-3 with 9:17 to play. With 4:24 remaining, Noto scored on a free-position chance to push the lead back to 10, but the Mustangs responded quickly to make it 13-4 entering the final period.
 

Stevenson tallied the opening goal of the fourth on a free-position opportunity with 14:04 to play. Bogdan and Michaud responded with their second goals of the game to extend the lead to 15-5 with 10:56 remaining. The Bears' defense held the Mustangs scoreless the rest of the way, and junior Brynn Bastian-Pastore added the final goal to secure the 16-5 victory.
 

Ursinus outshot Stevenson, 30-13, and held a 21-7 advantage in ground balls, while the Mustangs owned a 12-9 edge in draw controls. Stevenson's Ava Treakle led the visitors with three goals, while Emily Steinberg took the loss in goal with eight saves.
 

The Bears return to action Wednesday, March 4th, traveling to Glassboro, New Jersey, for a nonconference matchup against Rowan University.