COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – Senior forward
Ava Mikulski delivered the game-winning goal in double overtime, lifting the 13th-ranked Ursinus field hockey team to a 3-2 victory over No. 20 The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) on Wednesday evening at Snell Alumnae Field.
With the victory, Ursinus improved to 6-1 on the season to close out their non-conference schedule, while the Lions fell to 4-3 overall. The one-goal victory marked the 11th straight season in which Ursinus and TCNJ have played a game decided by a single goal.
Senior forward
Marie Brainard led the Bears' offense with two goals, notching her third multi-goal performance of the season. Her second score came with 35 seconds remaining in regulation to even the score, before Mikulski's game-winner in double overtime. Sophomore
Kylie Moore and senior
Kirsten Johnson each tallied an assist for Ursinus.
Ursinus put the pressure on the Lions' defense in the early going, tallying a penalty corner and a shot before the Bears earned a penalty stroke in the eighth minute. Senior
Monica Herman stepped up for Ursinus, but her shot was stopped on a diving save by TCNJ's Brigitte Racey in goal.
The Lions answered in the eighth minute, registering a goal off a penalty corner and their first shot attempt to take a 1-0 lead with 6:42 remaining in the first frame. Ursinus tallied consecutive corners to open the second, with senior
Rachel Fosbenner firing a shot on goal, but her attempt was turned away to keep the Bears' deficit at one. Junior
Katie Studzinski recorded the lone shot attempt over the remainder of the first half, with TCNJ controlling a one-goal lead entering halftime.
Ursinus kept the pressure on the Lions' backline, firing five shots over five penalty corners before Brainard tied the game at one in the 37th minute. On the play, Johnson inserted the corner to the top of the circle, finding Brainard. Her shot attempt deflected off the stick of a TCNJ defender and through the Lions' defense for her eighth goal of the season.
However, just 37 seconds later, TCNJ's Nika Eschmann converted off a penalty corner to push the Lions' lead to 2-1. Ursinus nearly found the equalizer over the remainder of the third stanza, but a pair of shots by Johnson and Studzinski were denied on defensive saves by the Lions' backline.
First-year goalie
Elise Martin and the Bears' defense turned away a pair of shot attempts from the Lions in the early stages of the fourth period. Ursinus continued to keep the pressure on the Lions' defense, firing four shots on goal, with a defensive save and three saves by Racey keeping the deficit at one entering the final three minutes.
The Bears pulled Martin from goal with 2:32 remaining before being awarded a penalty corner with 35 seconds remaining in the contest. On their final chance, Johnson inserted the corner to Moore at the top of the circle, and she swung a pass to Brainard, who snuck her shot past the Lions' defense to send the game into overtime.
The Bears totaled four corners over the first minute of overtime but came away empty, as a defensive save by the Lions kept the contest tied. TCNJ and the Bears each tallied a shot throughout the rest of the first overtime, but both attempts missed wide to force double overtime.
Martin and the Bears' defense stood tall and denied a shot from the Lions in the 70th minute before Mikulski capitalized on her chance in the 72nd to give Ursinus a 3-2 victory. The scoring chance came off a pass from the Bears' backline before Mikulski sprung free down the left sideline. She cut past a Lions defender and carried the ball into the circle before chipping a shot over the Lions' goalie for her second goal of the season.
Ursinus held a 24-11 advantage in shots, a 16-4 lead in shots on goal and a 20-5 edge in penalty corner opportunities. Martin earned the victory in goal for the Bears, earning two saves, while Racey suffered the loss for TCNJ with a game-high nine saves.
The Bears return to action on Saturday, opening their Centennial Conference schedule against Dickinson College before hitting the road to face No. 24 Swarthmore College and No. 4 Johns Hopkins next week.
