EWING, N.J. – The No. 20 Ursinus College field hockey team battled 4th-ranked TCNJ deep into the night in a scoreless deadlock befitting a matchup of nationally ranked regional powerhouses. In the end, the Bears were unable to keep the Lions at bay as the home side scored off a penalty corner with time expired in the first overtime session for a grueling 1-0 win.
For 80 minutes – but unfortunately not a few extra seconds – senior goalkeeper Jules Singer and her corps of lockdown defenders refused to break, holding back an avalanche of shots and several scoring chances by TCNJ, which advanced to the NCAA semifinals a year ago. The Lions (6-1) commandeered a 24-6 advantage in shots but were kept off the board by Singer's ten stops and a pair of defensive saves by senior captain Bridget Sherry.
Pushing for a game-winner, TCNJ finally got it with zeroes showing on the overtime clock. The hosts earned a corner just in time and made it count as Sydney Padilla ripped a one-time shot into the lower left corner of the cage for a golden goal.
The Bears (5-3), who saw a five-game winning streak ended, were outshot 18-3 after halftime and 24-6 for the night.
After a first half relatively devoid of chances, TCNJ put the pressure on right away after the break. Singer was forced into back-to-back saves within the opening two minutes, and the Bears tallied a trio of defensive saves in a span of just 2:18 in the early stages of the period. Sherry had the first and junior Anna Hall logged another – the first of her career – before Sherry kept a third shot out of the cage.
Sophomore Devon Carroll put a shot on frame off a corner in the 58th minute, but that was the last scoring opportunity for Ursinus. TCNJ generally controlled the overtime action and made it pay off with the winner at the stroke of 80 minutes.
Junior Erin Saybolt led the Bears with two shots. Sherry's first game with two defensive saves gave her six for her career, good for a tie for 10th in program history.
The Bears return home to face Dickinson in CC play on Saturday.