COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – The Ursinus men's lacrosse team was unable to overcome a strong defensive effort from Muhlenberg as they fell 8-5 to the Mules on Saturday afternoon at Patterson Field in Centennial Conference play.
With the loss, the Bears record drops to 4-5 overall and 1-1 in Centennial Conference play. Meanwhile, the Mules improved to 7-2 overall and 3-0 in Centennial Conference action as they snapped a 10-game losing streak in the series to Ursinus.
Becoming the theme of the day right off the start, both goalkeepers made tough stops on each team's first possessions of the contest. Sophomore Brett Wilkinson got the scoring going at the 11:49-mark with a goal off a deep shot as the shot clock was near expiration to make it 1-0. Ursinus had a shot ring off the post at the 8:36-mark while the Mules took advantage of a turnover two minutes later to tie the game at one. Muhlenberg added another goal to go ahead 2-1 just 32 seconds later and would hold that lead into the second quarter. The Bears had another shot bounce off the post in the final minutes of the first quarter while both goalkeepers continued to stand tall in the crease. The Mules quickly turned around a shot from freshman Riley Yee off a faceoff win and scored to bring the score to 3-1 just 40 seconds into the second quarter. The Mules then added to their lead at the 7:26-mark after their defense forced a Bears shot clock violation. Senior Jake Stackpole ended the Mules run with his first goal of the season at the 6:36-mark of the second quarter after senior Joshua Grahame led a quick clear off a Mules turnover. Junior Jeremy Calabro followed with a goal at the 5:03-mark to cut the deficit down to 4-3. The Bears had two high-quality chances saved and the Mules struck back with a goal at the 2:44-mark to take a 5-3 lead that would be held into halftime.
Ursinus scored first to open the new half once again when junior Erik Ojert netted his first goal of the game after junior Chase Rondeau picked off a Mules pass in open space and cleared the ball. Junior Tyler Neal tied the game at five at the 3:38-mark after Erik Ojert found him open in front of the crease and the score stayed deadlocked into the fourth quarter. Muhlenberg won the opening faceoff to open the fourth and cashed in near the end of a wanning shot clock to take the lead back at 6-5 with 13 minutes left in regulation. The Mules added to their lead to make it 7-5 at the 10:51-mark just on their ensuing possession following a save from a shot by senior Stephen Schoenborn. Ursinus had multiple high-scoring chances saved over the course of the fourth quarter while hitting two posts as well. Muhlenberg ultimately put the game away with a goal at the 1:07-mark after cashing in when the Bears went to a 10-man ride.
Muhlenberg held a 38-33 edge in shots and a 23-22 advantage in shots on goal. The Bears held a 35-30 advantage in ground balls while the Mules held a slight edge in faceoff wins at 9-8. Sophomore goalkeeper Jonathan Singer suffered the tough-luck loss after valiantly making a career-high 17 saves in net during the full 60 minutes. Mules goalkeeper Max May was equally as outstanding by earning the win with 15 saves in the full 60 minutes. Five different Bears scored on the afternoon and Erik Ojert led the Bears with two points. Rondeau led the Bears with six ground balls and three caused turnovers as well. Four different Mules accounted for the eight goals with James Dalimonte leading the way with three.
The Bears return to action on Saturday, April 9th as they will travel to take on No. 10 Dickinson in Centennial action at 3 p.m.