COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – The 23rd-ranked Ursinus field hockey team used a fast start to defeat No. 17 University of Lynchburg, 2-1, on Saturday afternoon at Snell Alumni Field.
With the victory, Ursinus improves to 4-0 on the season, while the Hornets fall to 2-3 overall. The Bears have won four of the previous five meetings against the Hornets, with each of the last three contests being decided by one goal. Senior forward
Marie Brainard led the Bears' offense, scoring both Ursinus goals. The performance marked her fourth straight game this season with a goal and her second consecutive game with two goals.
Ursinus jumped out to a quick start, recording three straight penalty corners and a trio of shots through the first three minutes of action. At the 8:36 mark, the Bears' offense broke through on a penalty corner as senior
Kirsten Johnson inserted a pass to Brainard, who fired a shot into the left corner of the cage to give Ursinus a quick 1-0 lead. The Bears kept the pressure on the Hornets' defense, totaling four more shots over the remainder of the period while holding a one-goal lead entering the second stanza.
After a Bears penalty corner to open the second period, Lynchburg evened the score at 1-1 at the 17:25 mark as a give-and-go led to a goal by Allie Freeman. However, Ursinus quickly responded as Brainard created space between a defender and fired a backhanded shot past the Hornets goalkeeper to give Ursinus a 2-1 lead with 10:57 remaining in the first half. The Bears' offense continued to create scoring chances over the remainder of the first half, outshooting Lynchburg, 5-1, but was unable to capitalize, holding a 2-1 lead at halftime.
The second half became a battle in the midfield as the Bears had a pair of shots turned away by the Hornets' defense at the 38:13 mark. Junior
Ava Wood and sophomore
Kylie Moore tallied the chances for Ursinus, but both opportunities were saved by the opposition. With under two minutes to play in the quarter, Lynchburg fired consecutive shots on goal, but both chances were denied by first-year goalie
Elise Martin to keep the Bears ahead by one.
Junior
Katie Studzinski and senior
Ava Mikulski nearly added insurance goals for the Bears to open the fourth quarter, but a pair of saves by the Lynchburg defense kept the lead at 2-1. Lynchburg looked to create chances late, but the Bears' defenders kept the Hornets at bay and held on for the fourth straight victory, 2-1.
Ursinus held a 23-6 advantage in shots, a 16-4 lead in shots on goal and a 14-4 edge in penalty corner opportunities. The Bears outshot the Hornets, 9-0, in the first quarter and 15-3 in the first half. Martin recorded the victory in goal for the Bears, tallying four saves, while Lynchburg's Shay Schoones suffered the loss after making a game-high 13 saves.
The Bears will return to action on Wednesday, September 16th, as they host No. 9 Messiah University at 7 p.m. at Snell Field.
