COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – Colleen Leahy scored two goals and the Ursinus College field hockey team's vaunted defense put the clamps on another opponent in a 3-0 non-conference victory over visiting Arcadia on a sunny Tuesday afternoon in Collegeville.
Fellow senior forward Amber Steigerwalt also dented the scoreboard for No. 7 Ursinus (10-2), which won its fifth straight game and extended its home winning streak against Division III opponents to 11.
The Bears needed less than five minutes to get on the board, taking advantage of a penalty corner to seize an early lead with an all-senior connection. Ann Kopera inserted to Aliki Torrence, who sent a bounding ball towards the right post, where Colleen Leahy was waiting to tap it in for a 1-0 advantage at the 4:45 mark.
Despite a 10-1 discrepancy in shots and six penalty corners, Ursinus was unable to further penetrate the Arcadia back line in the first half and went into the break armed only with the one-goal edge. The Bears made a couple critical defensive plays to prevent potential scoring opportunities for the Knights; Torrence stripped a streaking Arcadia player just across midfield to squash a possible breakaway, and junior Emma Frees got back to break up a 1-on-1 just outside the circle after a Knight had been played in deep.
The second half was a different story. The Bears capitalized on their first opportunity, with Leahy notching another right-place, right-time marker just 1:33 after intermission. Freshman Erin Saybolt's shot was saved, but the deflection rolled right to Leahy at the right post and the senior easily slotted home for her second of the day and 10th of the season.
Junior Brooke Overly and senior Amber Steigerwalt continued their connection less than five minutes later. Off a corner, Overly sent a ball in front of the cage and Steigerwalt redirected it into the left corner of the goal to make it 3-0 at 41:13. It marked the third straight game in which Overly set up a Steigerwalt score, all three of them coming on tip-ins.
The Knights put their only shot on goal at the 51:47 mark, a deflected shot that Ursinus sophomore goalkeeper Jules Singer gloved out of the air. Arcadia earned a penalty corner in the closing minutes but was unable to get a shot off.
Leahy took eight of the Bears' 20 shots in recording her fourth multiple-goal performance of the season and third in the past five games, a stretch in which she has put up seven goals and three assists.
Ursinus finished with large surpluses in shots (20-3) and corners (13-2). The Bears have held their last four opponents to a total of 18 shots.
Anne Becker finished with seven saves and Brittany Hodson added three over the final 28:47 for Arcadia. Singer made the only save she needed to post her third solo shutout of the season. The Bears blanked their fifth foe of the year, and have surrendered only 13 goals in 12 games.
The Bears embark on a three-game road trip with a battle of top-10 teams and perennial powerhouses at TCNJ on Thursday night. The 2014 NCAA champion Lions, ranked 10th in Division III, have won 42 consecutive home games.
