COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – The No. 19 Ursinus College field hockey team continued its winning ways on its home turf as the Bears shut out Catholic, 2-0, on a cool fall evening at Snell Field.
Junior Erin Saybolt had a hand in both goals as the Bears (10-4) extended their unbeaten streak at home to six games – seven overall dating back to last season – with their dominant performance over the Cardinals. Ursinus controlled the match, allowing just six shots; five of Catholic's attempts came in the second half. Offensive chances almost all went the way of Ursinus as they the home side 16 shots – half of them on cage.
Senior goalie Jules Singer stood strong in goal on our way to posting her 12th career shutout, which puts her in a tie for seventh in program history. Singer made three saves on the night.
To begin the scoring, Saybolt sent a low blast from the top of the circle past Cardinals keeper Maysen Elliot on a penalty corner fed by senior Mikayla Jordan in the fourth minute. Saybolt's team-leading 11th goal of the year and 20th of her career put the Bears up 1-0. Jordan's helper was her seventh assist, which tops the Centennial Conference.
Ursinus threatened to add another goal to the scoreboard in the 20th minute but Cardinal defender and Collegeville native Nicole Tsiaras denied a potential score with a defensive save. Saybolt took a shot from inside the circle that deflected toward goal as Tsiaras, standing by the near post, got a stick on it to deflect the ball wide.
The Bears took a 1-0 lead to the break, outshooting the Cardinals 9-1 in the first 35 minutes of play.
Ursinus tacked on an insurance tally in the 40th minute when Saybolt stole the ball from a Catholic defender in the circle then directed it to junior Gemma Dufoe. Stationed on the left post, Dufoe found the back of the cage for her fourth goal of the year.
Catholic (6-7) was riding a three-game win streak of its own before tonight's contest. Elliot made five saves in goal for the Cardinals.
The Bears square off in a nationally ranked showdown with Centennial-leading No. 15 Johns Hopkins on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. in Baltimore. A win would keep alive Ursinus' hopes of hosting the CC tournament.