CARLISLE, Pa. – A strong finish powered the Ursinus women's lacrosse team to a 9-5 Centennial Conference victory over Dickinson College on Saturday afternoon at Biddle Field.
 
With the win, Ursinus earned its second consecutive victory and first Centennial Conference win, improving to 7-4 overall and 1-1 in conference play. Dickinson fell to 5-5 overall and 0-2 in the conference.
 
Senior Meghan Vizian led the Bears offense with four points on two goals and two assists. Junior Dana DeSiato added a goal and two assists, pushing her season total to 33 assists, which leads the Centennial Conference. Junior Cait Michalowski paced the defense with three caused turnovers, while first-year goalkeeper Addi Guthrie-Pimpinella recorded a team-high four ground balls.
 
The Bears defense set the tone early, stopping four consecutive shots to open the contest before senior Ashley Noto capitalized on a scoring opportunity with 6:16 remaining in the first quarter. Noto received a pass outside the arc, beat her defender and finished with a shot to the far post for the game's opening goal. First-year Gabrielle Eaise followed with a free-position goal at the 3:28 mark to give Ursinus a 2-0 lead before Dickinson answered at 3:03, cutting the deficit to 2-1 heading into the second quarter.
 
Vizian extended the lead early in the second quarter with her ninth goal of the season, dodging past a defender and firing a shot through traffic into the back of the net. The Ursinus defense continued to hold firm, denying multiple scoring chances before junior Whitney Hershey scored on a woman-up opportunity to give the Bears a 4-1 halftime advantage. Hershey converted on a free-position attempt with a bouncing shot to the far side.
 
Both teams tightened defensively to open the second half, combining for multiple turnovers before Dickinson broke through with 6:56 remaining in the third quarter. Ursinus responded quickly, winning the ensuing draw control as DeSiato connected with junior Jaime Michaud for a goal at the 6:22 mark. The Bears carried a 5-2 lead into the fourth quarter.
 
Ursinus wasted little time adding to its lead, scoring just 14 seconds into the final period as DeSiato found Hershey cutting to the cage for her second goal of the game. After Dickinson answered, the Bears put the game out of reach with consecutive goals from Vizian and DeSiato to take an 8-3 lead with 7:36 remaining. Dickinson added two late goals, but sophomore Devin Buggy capped the scoring with nine seconds left to secure the 9-5 victory.
 
Ursinus held a slight edge in shots (25-24), shots on goal (14-13), and draw controls (9-7). Guthrie-Pimpinella earned the win in goal, making a career-high 10 saves. Dickinson's Peyton Vandorpe took the loss with eight saves, while Heidi Schmidt led the Red Devils with two goals.
 
The Bears return to action Wednesday, April 1st, when they host Washington College at 4 p.m.