GENEVA, N.Y. – A pair of second-period goals powered the Ursinus field hockey team to a 4-0 shutout victory over William Smith College on Saturday afternoon at McCooey Field.
With the win, Ursinus improves to 2-0 on the season, while the Herons fall to 1-1 overall. The victory marked the Bears' fourth straight win in the series against William Smith, with Ursinus winning seven of the last eight meetings.
Senior forward
Kirsten Johnson led the Bears' offense with two goals, while senior
Marie Brainard and junior
Katie Studzinski each added a goal. It marked Johnson's second career multi-goal game after she scored twice in the Bears' 9-0 victory over McDaniel in October 2024.
The Bears controlled the momentum early in the first period, recording two shots on goal through the first three minutes behind a pair of penalty corners. At the 4:57 mark, William Smith responded with a penalty corner of its own, but the Bears' defense denied the chance as the contest remained scoreless through the remainder of the period.
Ursinus carried its momentum into the second period, capitalizing at the 6:34 mark as junior
Ava Wood dribbled into the circle and sent a pass across the crease to Johnson, who scored her first goal of the season to give Ursinus a 1-0 lead. Two minutes later, on a penalty corner opportunity, Johnson inserted a pass to senior
Marie Brainard at the top of the circle. After a swing pass to sophomore
Kylie Moore, her pass found Johnson at the left corner of the cage to stretch the Bears' lead to two. The Herons earned a penalty corner with under a minute remaining in the first half, but their shot was blocked by the Bears' defense to keep Ursinus' lead at 2-0 entering halftime.
William Smith responded out of the halftime break, recording three of the first four shots, but each scoring chance was turned away by the Bears' defense to keep the lead at two. The Herons' defense blocked a Bears' shot in the 38th minute, while a William Smith shot in the 40th minute missed wide, leaving Ursinus with a 2-0 lead entering the final period.
Ursinus added a pair of insurance goals in the fourth period, with the first coming at the 13:14 mark. The Bears' initial shot from Brainard was saved by the Herons' goalie, but Studzinski corralled the loose ball and found the back of the cage to give Ursinus a 3-0 lead. Next, at the 8:57 mark, on a counterattack opportunity, Brainard created space between a defender and fired a backhanded shot past the Herons' goalie for the Bears' final tally, resulting in the 4-0 shutout victory.
The Bears held a 16-7 advantage in shots, a 14-2 lead in shots on goal and a 6-3 edge in penalty corner opportunities. First-year goalie
Elise Martin earned the victory in goal, posting her first career shutout behind two saves. William Smith's Olivia Terranova suffered the loss for the Herons, recording a game-high nine saves.
The Bears will return to action on Wednesday, September 9th, as they travel to DeSales University for a nonconference matchup starting at 6 p.m.
