SWARTHMORE, Pa. – The 12th-ranked Ursinus field hockey team battled but eventually fell, 3-1, against No. 24 Swarthmore College on Wednesday evening at Clothier Field.
With the loss, Ursinus falls to 7-2 overall and 1-1 in Centennial Conference action, while the Garnet improved to 6-3 on the season and 2-0 in conference play. Junior defender
Lauren Habakus scored the Bears' lone goal of the contest, marking her first of the season and second of her career.
The Bears earned the game's first scoring chance in the seventh minute after being awarded a penalty corner. Senior
Rachel Fosbenner fired the first shot attempt, with Habakus deflecting the initial shot past the Garnet goalie and into the back of the cage to give Ursinus a 1-0 lead. Swarthmore responded with a pair of shots on goal in the ninth minute, but first-year goalie
Elise Martin and the Bears' defense denied both chances to keep the Bears ahead by one. However, at the 11:59 mark, Swarthmore capitalized on a penalty corner to even the score at one apiece entering the second period.
Swarthmore controlled possession throughout the opening minutes of the second period, earning the first three shot attempts before scoring in the 25th minute to gain a 2-1 lead. On the goal, a pass was sent into the circle from the near sideline before Swarthmore's Avery Bloom connected on a loose ball in front of the cage for her second goal of the game. Ursinus nearly answered back in the 26th minute on a penalty corner, but sophomore
Kylie Moore's shot missed wide to keep the deficit at one entering halftime.
The third period remained a stalemate between the two sides, with Swarthmore registering the lone shot attempt on goal, but it was saved by Moore to keep the deficit at one heading into the final period. In the 54th minute, senior
Marie Brainard and junior
Ava Wood each tallied shots for Ursinus, but Brainard's attempt was saved, and Wood's shot missed wide to keep the score at 2-1. The Garnet added their final tally on a penalty stroke opportunity in the 57th minute, resulting in the 3-1 final score.
Swarthmore held an 11-4 lead in shots, a 9-2 advantage in shots on goal and a 7-3 edge in penalty corner opportunities. Swarthmore's Josie Sarno earned the victory in goal with one save, while Martin suffered the loss behind a game-high six saves.
The Bears return to action on Saturday, traveling to No. 3 Johns Hopkins University for a Centennial Conference matchup starting at 1 p.m.
