SWARTHMORE, Pa. – A slow start was just a little too much to overcome for the Ursinus College women's lacrosse team, which saw its second-half rally fall short in a 12-6 Centennial Conference defeat at Swarthmore on Saturday.
Senior Franny Liberatoscioli registered a hat trick with three goals for the Bears (2-6, 0-2), who trailed 6-1 midway through the first half. The co-captain scored twice in the final three minutes of the first frame, then netted a free-position conversion to close the gap to 8-6 with 16:16 remaining. But the Bears' offense dried up and Swarthmore (6-1, 1-1) ran off four straight goals.
Junior Kaci McNeave's eight-meter shot with 22:17 showing on the first-half clock was all that interrupted a hot start from the Garnet, who received goals from six different players in storming to a five-goal advantage.
Freshman Hannah Reape and senior Taylor DeBernardi entered the scoring column less than a minute apart to get within 6-3, and Liberatoscioli answered a goal by Mackenzie Frost with two of her own – only 46 seconds apart – to spark some momentum as the Bears went into the break trailing just 7-5.
Tess Wild got the Garnet on the board first in the second stanza, and Liberatoscioli responded with her third of the afternoon to make it a two-goal game again. But Wild curtailed the rally with her second and added another with 1:25 left to cap the scoring.
Wild had three goals and an assist for the Garnet, while Bridget Silveira and Frost each tallied twice. Wild also controlled seven draws to help the home side to a 12-8 surplus in the circle.
Betsy Cohen made five saves for Swarthmore, which finished 5-for-9 on free-position shots and outshot the Bears, 25-17.
Junior Emily Blaszkow was a force on defense for Ursinus, totaling three caused turnovers to go with four ground balls. McNeave posted a team-high six draw controls.
Junior Kaitlyn France closed the day with six saves.
The women's lacrosse team hosts Washington College in CC action on Wednesday night.